Hiba

What does life as a woman or girl look like in your country / city / town / village? Any issues / challenges / exciting milestones? Life as a woman in Karachi, Pakistan, is sadly, a daily struggle. My country is rated as one of the worst in the world for women and while I love my country because it is my home, I hate how I feel here…And this is coming from a privileged upper middle-class woman.

Among the myriad of obstacles facing women, the one I personally struggle with the most is freedom. I wish to be independent but I've been taught my entire life to be dependent on my parents/older family members. When I graduate university, I know I'm going to be pressured into marriage even though I don't want to get married or have kids. My dream life would be to live alone with a good job and surrounded by friends. But I'm afraid I'll never be able to achieve it.

It's not all bad though. This year, Karachi had its first ever Aurat March (Women's March) and awareness about women's rights is slowly but surely growing. Moreover, transgender rights has also started gaining traction in the law and media. At least, now we have hope.

Complete this sentence: "To be a girl or woman today, is to be..."

To be a girl or woman today is to be resilient, brave and determined to be heard in a world constantly against us.