Chime for change: Girls speak up for their dreams

By Dawn.com

Simrah started swimming when she was four. After much training and practice, she competed at provincial and national level. But Simrah now dreams for more, she wants to be an Olympic swimmer.

“Every time I break a record, my love for swimming increases. It hastaught me to push myself,”

says Simrah in a video in which she talks about her ambition. The video is a part of the five-part series by Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy (SOC) films for Chime for Change campaign.

Simrah is only 12 years old and goes through intense training for 2.5 hours every day.

“I know that I can be something and that the only way for me isforward.”

The SOC campaign has set out to promote education, health and justice for women worldwide. The purpose is to mobilise communities and women towards achieving basic human rights. Amongst their various projects is one that is looking to campaign in three provinces in Pakistan against child marriages.

Simrah is working in pursuit to achieve her dream and wants other women to follow suit.

“Every girl should seek to be a winner in whatever she does,”

she says.

There are other young girls like Simrah who are ambitious and career-driven. Areeba is a tenth grader at Dawood Public School and is an avid reader of world politics and international relations.

She wants to be a diplomat in future, a career path that she feels very few women take.

“We usually don’t see women in Pakistan in foreign service,”

she says.

Her aspiration to be a diplomat stems from her success in Model United Nations (MUN) events in which she has moved on from being a delegate to chairing committees, often being the youngest chair.

“I want to be a diplomat so I can resolve my country’s issues throughdialogue and creative problem solving.”

Areeba sees herself as a feminist and a representative of Pakistan in United Nations. She believes

“if girls set their eyes on something they can do anything. If webelieve in ourselves, everybody will believe in us”.

Another achiever is 17-year-old Rose who was was one of the top five contestants in Pakistan Idol, the only female contestant to reach this round. She thinks the

“whole world follows a rhythm. Without music the world will not bebeautiful”.

In her video in which she talks about her dream to excel in singing she says, “In my society girls who sing are frowned upon” but being on the stage makes her feel “unstoppable”. Rose has already performed in India while taking part in the singing competition named Chhote Ustaad.