KARACHI, March 7: Fawzia could have sunk into the comforts of her maternal home. Her life may have been secure, perhaps independent, but not one of pride and courage. “My early life was far from extraordinary,” says Fawzia Kazmi, chief executive of Shell Gas.

A regular girl from a middle-class family, Fawzia had nurtured simple dreams. “I wanted to complete my education, get married and be a wife and a mother for the rest of my life,” she says.

And to some extent, that is how her life unfolded. An arranged marriage to an army officer ensued soon after her graduation and she left her cosmopolitan environs to set up home in the heart of Punjab. “Our backgrounds were poles apart. I was an educated, Karachi girl and he was from a highly conservative, army background,” she explains.

But Fawzia’s aspirations for marital security were cut short by a sudden, debilitating tragedy. Eight years and two children into her marriage, she became a widow at 29. “Abbas, my eldest, was only six years old and my daughter Alizay was an eight-month infant when my husband died suddenly of a heart attack,” she recounts. Bearing the burden of a bleak future for herself and her children, Fawzia returned to her natal home.

“For the first two years, I would wake up and dread the prospect of getting through the day. The fear that one day my children could lose me just as suddenly had set in. But my mother forced me out of it.”

Instead of escaping into self-pity and despair, Fawzia finally decided to start life all over again.

“Losing someone is more of a trauma than divorce because you miss them every step of the way. But I learnt early that self-pity is the easiest way out.”

She joined the S. M. Law College to acquire an LLB degree and then joined the institution’s masters’ programme. “The demands of being a full-time lawyer left me with no time for my kids. I applied to an oil company and was hired as chief legal adviser in 1994.”

Fawzia spent two years with the company and switched to Shell, Pakistan, in 1997. “I was the company secretary and legal affairs manager there. It is one of the few companies which provide ample opportunities to grow. I spent over a decade there,” she says.

Her devotion and much personal sacrifice truly paid off when the company decided to invest in her growth. “I got an opportunity to do an additional masters course at the London School of Economics. My employers supported me by not only sending me on a paid sabbatical but also paid for my tuition.”

Soon after her return, Fawzia became the first Pakistani woman to join the company’s executive team and in 2001, she was moved into the board of Shell, Pakistan – another first for a Pakistani woman.

“I was sent on a short assignment to Philippines in 2003, and the following year I applied for the post of CE of Shell Gas. It is a part of the Shell group of companies and is listed on the Karachi and Lahore Stock Exchanges.”

Fawzia’s is a story of both tenacity and success but despite nearly two rewarding decades in the corporate world, she continues to grapple with a few personal dilemmas.

“In my struggle to move up, I lost time with my kids and that is why I had left law. I wasn’t there during their exams and was in and out when they were ill.”

However, she attributes her rise and the balanced upbringing of her children to her family.

“There was never any dearth of love, support and concern for all three of us and despite the fact that my husband passed away 20 years ago, we still enjoy a very close bond with his family,” she says with pride.