The Creatives August-September Issue

The The

Creatives

August-September2019 2019Issue Issue54Vol2 Vol2 August-September

Young Lonely at School?

Poet’s You Might be Better Off? Corner

Young Poet’s Corner

Back to School Tips Winning Stories from Summer School @ LUMS Special Feature On the Spot Competition Bullying: A Social IsTrue Stories A special edition featuring

of survivors of the Independence War of 1947

Mental Distress of Troubled Teens Women’s Health Takes the Lead An interview withConsultant a gynaecologist Psychia-

Dr Nosheen Salman

The Creatives is a publication by Ray Academics for children and young adults.

Learn to Reimagine your Future

Contents 4

Special Thanks to our contributors Mahru Syed Aleen Basit Uroosha Shahzad

Jouney to Pakistan

Prize winner of Pakistan Day

6

Events of Pakistan

7

Women of Pakistan

9

A poem dedicated to Pakistan

10

Generations Apart

An Interview with the eye witness

12 Young Poets Corner 21 23 17

Perks of Loneliness Recipes Book Review

18 Back to School Gender Discrimination or In-

24 equality 25

Insight into Female Education A interview with a Gynaecologist,

Dr Nosheen Salman

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EDITOR’S LETTER Dear Reader, Many students mourned relentlessly as their vacation ended and some even speculated ways to escape this inevitable suffering. It was quite a sight to see a mob of students and parents, struggling to reach counters to pay hefty bills. The race to get to the counter first would easily was enough to convince the onlooker that the books are absolutely free!

The first day was filled with mixed feelings for may and some were newbies who had to join new schools. Overwhelmed by anxieties, they bravely faced the challenges of a new school, where they had to make friends all over again. In this issue, we have some very good advice in our Back to School feature, and there are also words of consolation for those who are still friendless in their new school.

We also have some heart-felt written pieces based on true events witnessed by the brave survivors of the Independence war of 1947. These writings will give the reader a chance to relive the nightmarish reality that was faced by many in the war of 1947.

Bushra Ehsan Editor-in-Chief CEO Ray Academics

Patron-in-Chief Parveen Akhtar

Editorial Board Aaiza Zafar Ryaan Mirza Amn Zain Zainab Imran Maheen Salman Damia Nauman

Distributed by Ray Academics 21 Bank Square Market Model Town Lahore, Pakistan Ph: +92-302-8556771

Email: info@rayacademics.com

Printers RN Digital Printers

Journey tp Pakistsn

by Urooshah Shahzad

Winning Story of IndependenceDay Competition Seen through the eyes of my grandmother’s elder sister, Saleema. Narrative is based on true events.

It was terrifying- the desperation and thick aura of danger that surrounded us. Children cried for their mothers and the heartbreaking sound shattered my heart into a million pieces. It was a chilling December night, when we finally boarded the train for the conclusive part of our journey that would take us to our destination; our new home in Khanewal. It all started after the fateful events of August 1947: the birth of Pakistan.

We had been settled in Hyderabad Deccan for quite a few years, which had now been declared part of India. Here almost three-quarters of the population was Hindu.

Violence had broken out and Hindus robbed and raided Muslim homes. It was as if my whole life had been turned upside down- my twelve year old brain could not fathom how such good neighbors and friends had become our enemies all of a sudden.

Muslims were compelled to move out of their houses, abandoning their belongings and property.

We had flown from Hyderabad Deccan to Mumbai, where we stayed overnight in the airline-arranged room at Taj Mahal Hotel. There too, Hindus were patrolling the streets, carrying firearms and sticks, warning people to stay put. For my fear, I didn’t dare venture out of the room.

The next morning we crossed over from India to Pakistan by air, reaching Karachi. My spirits soared as I thought that my troubles were finally over. I was sorely mistaken, for the remainder of the journey was quite a paralyzing ordeal as well.

We took a train from Karachi to Malakwal and then Bhera. There was no train schedule whatsoever those days, as they were ambushed and attacked at random times, killing many Muslims, old and young, in cold blood. It was horrible, the trains arriving from India with corpses and severed limbs everywhere, blood streaming on the floor in rivers of crimson, the only survivor being the driver. I shuddered at the memory of witnessing such a train, snuggling deeper into my mother. It was a trauma that would not be forgotten anytime soon. I still remember the scene of the station

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vividly painted before my eyes, people scrambling to get to safety, lugging their meager belongings. Old people trying in vain to get onboard, youths helping them in a true show of the unity that Muslims should have.

Our father left us in the care of some of his relatives in Bhera, while he went to Khanewal to secure the job he had been promised. Our hosts were gracious and welcoming, sharing their livelihood with us with open heart.

After a few weeks we received our summons and headed to Khanewal during wee hours of the night, on a cargo train, as it was safer than passenger trains. We barely had any warm clothes on our backs; all of us were chilled to the bone. We were crammed on the roof, my sister Khursheed and I cuddled against our mother with her arms around us. Our two younger sisters were on my mother’s lap, who was five months pregnant with my next sibling.

I drifted in and out of sleep, nightmares plaguing my sleep and jerking me awake. I relived all the horrible atrocities I had witnessed, and my sleep was very disturbed. Halfway there, the train stopped at the Shorkot station, where, to our horror, we learnt that there had been a massacre of two hundred people only yesterday. The thought brought fear deep into my heart.

When we finally stopped, it was well before the station. My mother’s gentle voice whispered in my ears, “Saleema, my dear, we’re here.” I jolted awake, sleep forgotten, squinting to see the new land before me. With no platform, we were at quite a height. My mother had to undo her sari, tie it around each of us, and lower us down one by one into the arms of a helpful new countryman. Then she herself came down, and with smiles spread on our haggard faces, we were reunited with our father who took us to our new home.

It was a new country, a new nation, a new era. I pray that future generations will cherish it as ours did. I finally felt hope blossoming in my heart…here Muslims could live freely and practice Islam, without the fear of facing punishment and oppression. Here they would prosper and could once more restore the greatness of Muslims. Here, they would live up to their legacies.

Alhamdulillah for Pakistan.

By Maheen Salman Ahmad 12 years old SCIL

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August 2019 Issue

Events offrom Pakistan Verdict Society

bybyUrooshah Shahzad Urooshah Shahzad

An interview with a survivor of the 1947 war Interviewer: Mahru Syed Interviewee: Mrs. Tasneem Hassan Birth: Born in 1929 Q) What was your life like before Partition?

A: Before partition, I was getting educated at Loreto Convent, Shimla(present-day India). I was a college student in Shimla where we lived in a house with a huge fruit garden. At school, I studied with girls from different families and cultures. It was quite peaceful.

Q) When and how did you learn about Partition?

A: In that time, not knowing that the Partition was taking place was a little difficult.

There were several movements and protests taking place. As a young girl I would enthusiastically participate in such events.

Q) Did you stay where you were or did you have to move?

A: We migrated from Shimla to Lahore. This was our mothers decision as the blood shed scared her. As a result- we went to Lahore while our father decided to go to Kashmir before he eventually reached Lahore.

Q) What mode of transportation did you use to migrate?

A: We came to Lahore through a train. That train was the last train that arrived with alive passengers- all the trains that reached after that were loaded with bodies. On our way we saw several lifeless bodies that lay on the ground beside the train tracks. It was a horrifying experience but we reached Lahore safely.

Q) Was after Partition any different that pre-Partition?

A: After we came to Lahore, we were now part of Pakistan- a land that we could own as our own. I gave my exams privately and completed the rest of my education at a Convent in Lahore.

Q) How do you feel about the decision of Partition, same as you felt then?

A: I was always wanted Pakistan. I would participate in the movements and listen to the speeches that were quite inspiring for me. We would have slogans too. “Lay kar

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Q) Have you been in touch with any of your friends from that time?

A: Most of my friends went to the other side of the border and at that time we had less ways of staying in touch with each other. I have not been in touch with any of my friends from that time.

By Mahru Syed LGSi 14 years old

Women of Pakistan Many people tend to believe that a woman’s position is behind the stove, with a child straddled on her hip as she cooks dinner for her husband.I think not.

Women are not born not just to serve a man his meals, as he arrives home from work, all frustrated at his wife. Nor are women meant to give birth to multiple children until a suitable heir or a son, in other words, is produced.

A women is not an object of lust nor is she a slave. She can have a will of her own and not be submissive to a man’s demands. A woman is a human being, who has the complete right to live and love, in the absence of an oppressing force.

There is a popular ideology in our society, that feminism is the struggle where women stroll on the streets, screaming at the top of their lungs all the while disrespecting the definition of man itself. No, that is not feminism! According to Google, feminism is ‘advocating equal rights for all genders.’ Many of you may not agree with uplifting the rank of women in our society.

But that is absolutely incorrect, for the female

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population of Pakistan has proven themselves. With their capabilities and talent to surpass the banner of criticism. Causing the state to progress further, awaiting its brightest of futures.

For example, Bilquis Edhi, also known as ‘the mother of Pakistan’ has worked day and night for the welfare of the needy and oppressed. Moreover, Sharmeen Obaid is a woman, who has been able to break the stereotypical boundaries of married women and achieved an Oscar. Additionally, Ayesha Farooq, Pakistan’s first female fighter pilot, a woman of grace and fierceness, risked her life for the well-being of our homeland. Muniba Mazari, a disabled yet a single working mother, with aspirations greater than her soul. She has managed to become an accomplished artist and advocate for human rights.

All of these women have set excellent examples for all females to stand on your feet and escape the confines of persecution that they face. They motivate people to come across with their own identity. To shatter the cultural restrictions that one has set and to rise, until she becomes an ideal.

For I am a woman, whole and complete. I need no one to reassure me of who I am and where I belong. Because I am me.

Zainab Imran LGS-55 Main 16 years old Lahore

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Dedicated to Pakistan

Fear not for we are brave The soil of our beloved land bears witness of The brave children martyred by the cowardly behind masks.

Their innocence was what scared them, Their bravery to embrace death was what put them at unease.

Have no sympathy because we have survived together, As a nation and became stronger, For our fallen, for our children, The soil of our beloved land bears witness of, Our soldiers who laid down their lives to protect our country Countless soldiers who promised their loved ones to come back home, Embraced death without any hesitation, Nothing is more beloved than the love we have for our nation, Have no sympathy because our loyalty stands true, Nothing is more beloved than our homeland, When you saw us bleed, fear not for we are brave, The soil beneath your feet bears witness of how far we have came, Fear not for we have many brave souls within our masses, We have lost many we'll never forget, Nothing is more beloved than our homeland.s By Afifa imran 16 years old, Generations School, Karachi

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Generations Away The conception of modernity contains the inseparable notion of progress, which implies that the time is moving towards advancement consequently affecting the relationship between human beings and their environment. This is called ‘progress’- a way of looking at movement from the past, into the future. The idea of a generation gap has also been weaved into the movement of time, entwined within the advancement of our understanding. As such, there is an assumption of life, compared to those who have come and gone before us. In my opinion our relationship with technology has given us increasingly greater control over the exploitation of nature.

With the invention of microchip technology, the speed at which technology has grown over the past four decades. The rapid changes that technological advancement has brought about has created a sense of antiquity for the older generation. Lack of following traditions or refuse the intellectual investment, it becomes very convenient by naming it the generation gap. On the contrary, if we ever sat and spoke to our elders, it becomes obvious that it i adds value to life’s experience by understanding of the growing through various phases of life: childhood, youth, middle age and old age. Which provides different frames of mind.

Our parents also lived with similar assumptions about their parents but most of those assumptions disappear as illusory when they themselves have entered into parenthood. Some of the most essential ways that make us human and unique is our ability to think and at the heart of all meaningful thought is the notion of ethics. I’ve been surprised to note that some of the most ethical ways of conceiving life are two- thousand years old, which when fully understood diminishes the generation gap to celebration of living the good life in which we can learn a lot from the past and those who have stepped life ahead of us, just as certainly as our energy and youth can fill them with fresh perspectives within the larger frameworks.

It might feel as if you are strangers, forced to live under the same roof but have you ever stopped to think that it might be us who’s not trying to

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understand our elders?

Time does not stop,it keeps running, and in turn causes more gaps among generations or creates what we know as a generation gap. This gap occurs over time as people form different perspectives, commonly revolving around language, fashion and education.

Age differences do not necessarily play a role. Communication gaps however, always cause misunderstandings. A major reason for this is technology. Today’s children are smarter and tend to self-learn, faster than before. They can efficiently operate electronic gadgets- often, better than adults. In such a situation, to prevent conflicts, it is necessary to find a solution.

Everyone has a different way of handling the problem. Sometimes, parents have a way to tackle the differences between new and oldlearning from their juniors.

Generation gaps can be very difficult to fill up unless people spend time with each other. Our responsibility as the younger generation is to strike a balance between our social and personal lives. We should try and learn the essence of morality from the older generation- they have come a long way, after all.

We should not put all the weight of this gap on the shoulders of our elders, but make an effort ourselves to bridge the gap.

By Mahru Syed LGSi 14 years old

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Young Poe The Trouble with Humanity The apocalypse is upon us, A tragedy from within.

In the pursuit of sanctity, We only achieve sin.

We break our own hearts And thus we die.

We kill our own brothers, A crime we cannot deny.

In a culture of oppression, Of power, greed and strife, We reward the dictators.

The reapers of misery in life.

At the expense of millions, In both lives and currency, Forged in blood and tears, The medals of corrupted victory.

A broken system, Political lies.

The truth is simple.

War is the people’s demise. by Laraib Zaidi LUMS Summer Camper

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Snow Accumulating A street with dazzling white trees, That man smiles with a glee, A wind breezing life, A tiny life with a freezing ice, A yellowish ball radiating bright light, Spreading the blessing of God all over the sight by Taha Zaman LUMS Summer Camper

ets Corner Swing A closet clatters, a fan shakes Our entire relationship seems overridden with agony But even through your hard demeanor, I see your concern Deep within, your heart overflows with purity A quarrel of today is a memory for tomorrow Perhaps you want me to fit your ideals And though I respect that, it is not the path I choose A victim of both chaos and serenity, I always suffer Detached from all, I declare my freedom by giving up your appreciation by Ibrahim Sarmad LUMS Summer Camper

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z

The Perks of being Friendless No Friends? Having Less Friends Can Be a Good Thing!

It is inbelievable but yes, you can use loneliness to an advantage.

1. A chance to be more independent Not relying on others can help you be more confident and learn to do things yourself. In the future, it becomes easier to be independent at work and otherwise too.

2. You won’t be ganged up by people by a group of so-called friends.

You won’t be criticized about your decisions and this would help you raise your confidence level. It significantly decreases the chances of being bullied or judged in the group. Also, if you don’t have someone that you actually lean and rely on, you won’t expect that there will be someone there for you. You won’t fall hard when they would step back or decide to take themselves out of the picture.

3. Grouping within your friends In larger groups, friends tend to form “sub-groups”. For some people this can be a good thing while for others it can cause them to feel alone or cornered out in a way. Why not avoid that whole thing by staying in a small group in the first place?

4. An opportunity to focus on academics Having less friends at school frees up time to concentrate on your work.

For instance, if hanging out with your friends will make you study less.

This would inevitably impact your grade. If however if you are free from such distractions then it would definitely make you a high achiever.

5. Getting closer to your family If you look at this under the positive light, this gives you a great chance to get closer to your family and get to know them better. Eventually it is them who’ll be by your side through everything.

6. More efficient student

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When students are working together they begin chatting excessively with each other. Not only this results in lack of concentration and poor quality of work but also allows students to engage in fights and competition . So when the student does not have anyone to discuss the work with , then there is no choice but to concentrate.

7. Build your own image People tend to judge you according to the kind of people that you spend time with. If you spend time with good people, you have a good image whereas if you spend time with unhappy and negative people, you will be seen as a bad person. Besides this would help you give more time to yourself and build your own personality.

By Urooshah Shahzad 14 years, Sacred Heart Convent School, Lahore

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Recipes Oreo Milkshake Ingredients 1 pint vanilla ice cream 1 cup milk 10 Oreo cookies (or any chocolate sandwich cookie, 2 are for garnish) Method Place the ice cream, milk, and 8 Oreo cookies, in a blender, and puree until smooth.

Crush the remaining Oreo cookies by placing them in a zippersealed plastic bag, and pounding on them a few times until they crumble.

Serve the shakes immediately, with a straw, and enjoy!

Cake Pops (Makes 24 cake pops Ingredients 1 box of Chocolate Cake Mix 1 tub Chocolate Frosting 375 grams white or regular chocolate (melted) Sprinkles Lollipop Sticks Method Prepare the cake Cut the prepared cake in half and crumble it by rubbing the halves together Pour the frosting over the crumbled cake and mix it using a spoon Line a baking tray with baking paper and form the balls taking a tablespoon of the cake mix and roll it with your hands.

Put the tray in the freezer for 20 minutes

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Remove the cake balls from the freezer 12 at a time and dip it into the melted chocolate and cover with sprinkles, adding the lollipop sticks as the final touch.

Repeat the above instruction on the remaining 12 balls as well.

By Amn Zain -ul- Abidin 13 years old LGS 55-Main, Lahore

Book Review THE MIGHTY MS.MALONE

By Christopher Paul Curtis “We are a family on a journey to a place called Wonderful” Christopher Paul Curtis, ‘The Mighty Miss Malone’ A smart student, with a humorous brother, beautiful mother, loving father, great friend and the most empathetic teacher you could ever ask for! Yes, Deza Malone has it all, with a born author inside her. Who could ask for more?

Yet as the Great Depression hits Deza’s hometown in Gary, Michigan, and times grow hard, things begin to grow hard for the ‘perfect’ Malones. When Deza’s father loses his job, he sets out to travel in order to find work as a carpenter. Taking things into her own hands Deza’s mother follows him, unknown of where her husband has gone.

In between, Deza’s brother takes a flight to pursue his singing career and all hopes of finding Father seem lost.

But through it all Deza stays what she is, holding her nerve in the hardest of situations, with her girlish fancies, and a love for reading, she uplifts and brings her family together again, staying in her heart the true ‘MIGHTY MS. MALONE’ A masterpiece, must read book, about sacrifices, and family, and cold, hard reality through the eyes of a young child, Curtis truly masters out a book that pleads to be aired out of its shelf!

By Amn Zain -ul- Abidin 12 years old LGS 55, Lahore

A Feature by Amn Zain ul Abidin

Back to School Blues How to overcome the gloom and look upon it as a fresh new start!

Who isn’t on seventh heaven the day vacations start? No more drama, no more homework, just three months all t dedicated to freedom. And why would this June be any different as when school broke out, just like every summer, in 2019 we were all brushing off the weight of the exams, emptying our bags, and getting ready for 90 days of bliss.Then again who isn’t sulking on the days just before school starts again?

Neck breaking homework, same old routine with schedules and pressure.

Everyone reminisces about the freedom of spent holidays before the typical school day. But if you look at it in a new light, school isn’t so bad, and you can grow to like the Monday that begins a new grade. I know it seems impossible, yet with careful organization we can grow to see this year as a fresh start to brush off the previous years, of any bad grades or fights.

A new start is a good omen as you can work harder with gusto or it can be bad if you waste your time wondering about the freedom of the vacations.

So try to look forward to organizing your bag for the approaching Monday, and put your pencil box to rights. Try to neaten up your copies to set impressions on teachers, and start anew on everything. I have tried this routine for a year now and a try doesn’t harm anyone, but just demands some responsibility.

With your bag organized, and you head set for an ambitious nine months, and you are looking forward to coming home to a neat room, you will enjoy the organized life for as long as you allow it.

Be brave, big steps, I know it, you’ll tire of it, but a look in the

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mirror will set us all on the right path again, if we look close enough.

Trying to enjoy the remaining holidays just like you, A nervous, almost 8th grader.

Newbies at School

A person has extended a hand, to a fellow human being, a smile upon their lips. The other is surprised, but pleased. Nervous, yet grateful. At least they aren’t a nobody anymore. They accept the hand, with a warm shake, still baffled at this strange person who came out of nowhere, and brought them into a whole new world of friendship.

This strange person is me.

People often state that I am overconfident, and often mix up bravery with foolishness.

Other classmates tend to ignore the new student, unless they are sitting with them. I don’t. It’s nothing to be proud of really, because my intentions are highly fanatic. To wonder about the travels of this new girl, and to imagine her as some very adventurous character yet to be discovered in one of my books. To love them for being a Potterhead, and sympathize with them for not loving books. A new student is exciting, even if others have nothing to do with them.

Despite my fanatic intentions, being a nobody in a new school, with children who know each other is quite scary. Thankfully, I’ve never been a new student myself. But by observing the newcomers every year, I have seen their lips trembling, the curious gazes, I can relate to my book characters and understand the pains and excitements, and lend a hand to ‘fitting in’.

This is how I ended up with a national swimmer for a best friend. How one of my greatest friends tells me jokes every day, with that crazy look in her eyes. How I know most of the new comers in our schools.

Its foolishness I know, but ever so occasionally a person is a friend, yet sometimes they ignore you. I’m quite nosy, and not that compassionate, so it’s just my curiosity that helps me reach out.

And this year, for all the students, the year has started, and you can extend a hand for any new comer, to build decade long friendships, and great companions.

But unlike me…. please don’t raise your arm for any random stranger. I have suffered the consequences of fights and arguments…... it’s not a ride worth paying for.

Good luck guys!!

Adios for now, and lend a hand!

The School Nerd

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Gender Discrimination or Inequality Have you ever been discriminated because of your gender?

Y

es, it still happens. Men get away with unimaginable things just for the fact that they are men while women are left to suffer hardship. Some of you might know what gender discrimination is: it’s quite self-explanatory. The term shows the situation in which genders are treated differently. This mostly happens in South Asia as the society is still evolving into a more progressive social structure. I think it’s wrong because, either gender should be able to do whatever they want to do. Even in offices and in other jobs, women are paid less and men are paid more even if they are equally competent and sometimes even work harder. Some employers don’t even hire women because they may require maternity leave. Gender discrimination does not end her but is also prevalent in schools; some people believe that girls are not supposed to play sports. They think that girls aren’t as athletic as boys are since they are perceived as the weaker gender. This is wrong, however, as women are just as capable as men of anything despite the social issues considering women as the weaker sex.

Fifty-percent of the societies in the world are male dominated. Male dominated countries assure that men are given more rights than women. In the northern areas of Pakistan men are considered to be strong and robust. For instance, I have heard that men still lock their wives in their houses to do work and the men are allowed to do whatever they want. One of my friends told me that she is not allowed to study abroad, just because she is a girl. The fact that many people are held back in their lives just because of their gender made me very upset.

You will come across people going through gender discrimination all through their lives whether by friends, family, or strangers. You will witness it and it is your responsibility to speak up to such people and prove them that women are capable of the same things as men.

By Aleen Basit 12 years old IKL

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“A woman is human.

She is not better, wiser, stronger, more intelligent, more creative, or more responsible than a man. Likewise, she is never less.

Equality is a given. A woman is human.”

ate c o dv .” a re ghts a en 's ri m al men st e “R r wo hri fo sia C Ba

Vera Nazarian

“How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes!”

“Gi r res ls are tric two tion weigh By equa s, boy ed do Sim ll w s one y harm with n by d de f e Bea ul dis mand c uvo ipli s nes ir .”

Maya Angelou

“A female who spoke her mind and called it like it was, was considered trouble.

When a male did it, he was considered a leader and desirable.”

Dianna Hardy, Blood Shadow

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Inside the Mind of a Child Labourer

C

hild labour, is something that happens all around the world. It has reduced over the years, but in the East it is still happens continuosly.We all know what child labour is, but have you ever stopped to think how the child labourer feels? Let us spend the idle time we have to explore the insights of the hardworking citizens of our age.

Millions of children are put to work in ways that drain their childhood of joy. The right to normal physical and mental development of the child is crushed. This hinders educational, mental and physical life. They are sent out by their parents to work and get money for food at a very young age. They wonder what if their fault is that they are placed in these circumstances. Did they do something wrong? Or were they meant to labor away 24/7, not get a good education and waste away the joys of childhood? We should open our hearts, have empathy and donate food or money to these poor children. The government should provide them with education. We should stop child labour and think how the children feel about how it steals their childhood away from them.

Aleen Basit Hassan IKL 12 years old

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A Column for Parents and Teens

An interview with a Gynaecologist Dr. Nosheen Salman Wahab MBBS, FCPS Assistant Professor Obstetrics and Gynecology Al-Aleem Medical College Ghulab Devi Teaching Hospital, Lahore.

Interview with a Gynecologist

Q. How long have you been a gynecologist?

A. Well, I started my training in the specialty of Obstetrics and Gynecology in 2001, so I guess you could say that it has been about 18 years I have been a gynecologist. Wow, time sure flies by quick!

Q. Why did you become a doctor and choose this particular field of medicine?

A. It may come as a surprise, but I never really intended to become a doctor; it was a path chosen for me by my mother, as girls from respectable families were expected to become either a teacher or a doctor. For the record, I am glad, for times have changed now, and girls have much wider options. It was at a doctor’s clinic that I realized the nobility of the medical profession and the respect and gratitude that it entailed. Later on, in my final year of medical studies, MBBS at Fatima Jinnah Medical College, we were assigned to all the major specialty wards. And believe it or not, my two good friends and I swore to each other that come what may, we would never become gynecologists. The duty was both mentally and physically draining. I remember two of my classmates fainted on witnessing childbirth for the first time! Later on, when we had to choose our specialty for our post-graduate entrance exam, I chose ObGyn because it was the perfect combination of what surgery and medicine, because I loved being the investigator like a physician plus doing meticulous handiwork like a surgeon.

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Q. What was your career path?

A. I got married in my final year of medical studies. After doing my MBBS, I did my house job in ObGyn and Pediatrics; I started my FCPS training, which is a four-year course. Being a married professional woman, there was a time when I had to give my family priority and temporarily took a break from my training. I faced a lot of skepticism on whether or not I would be able to continue. But Alhamdulillah, with the help and unwavering support of my mother, my husband and my mother-in-law, I was able to do so successfully, all the while becoming a proud mother of two adorable little girls. I then worked as a senior registrar at Allama Iqbal Medical College/Jinnah Hospital, going on to my current position. I owe a great deal to my teachers and mentors to get me to where I am now.

Q. What role do obstetricians play in improving maternal health?

A. Let me take this opportunity to emphasize the significance of women’s health in a society’s progress. Women make up almost half (49%) of our country’s population, but unfortunately, the majority does not have access to adequate healthcare, leading to very high rates of maternal deaths (also called maternal mortality that is death of a woman during pregnancy or around the birth of a child). Pakistan is one of the twelve countries in the Asian Pacific region with particularly high maternal mortality rates of 178 deaths per hundred thousand life births! Many, if not all such deaths are preventable with good, timely and competent healthcare provision. The role of specialist obstetricians and midwives cannot be over-emphasized in this regard.

Q. What has been the most rewarding experience in your professional life as a gynecologist?

A. Seeing a happy and healthy mother with her baby and the gratitude of patients whom I’ve helped and treated in some way is by far the most satisfying and motivating feeling that a doctor can experience. Childbirth is one of the most glorious miracles of Allah that we see everyday. I feel that the need for the care of pregnant women and mothers through trained obstetricians and midwives is highly underestimated in our country, a fact that I find to be very unfortunate.

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Q. What is the role of gynecologists in the lives of young girls?

A. A healthy and active childhood and adolescence is a paramount requisite to future healthy mothers and babies. Unfortunately, I’ve noticed that young girls have to face unnecessary anxieties and go through both physical and mental stress, while growing up to become young women.

This is mostly because of myths surrounding issues relating to their reproductive and sexual health. Gynecologists can play a profoundly positive role in improving this situation. Young girls and their mothers alike need to be aware of this, instead of suffering in silence. Can you believe that one in twelve girls in Pakistan have given birth by eighteen years of age?

They’re hardly adults themselves! Such mothers and their babies have a much higher risk of complications and death than women over twenty years of age.

Q. Should gynecologists give informational sessions to colleges and schoolgirls?

A. I’m glad you asked this. In fact, this is a continuation to the answer of the last question. I cannot tell you how many girls are given wrong or unnecessary medical or even surgical treatments by quacks and under qualified people for issues that are often a part of normal physiology and grossly misunderstood. Educating young girls and their mothers and raising awareness through informational sessions at schools and colleges would be a beneficial first step in achieving this. It is high time women’s health is made a priority both at a societal as well as governmental level.

By Maheen Salman Ahmad 12 years old SCIL

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