Women-Only: Out with the Bucket-list, In with the Action Plan

Posted on January 31, 2018January 31, 2018 Posted in Blog, Career, Creativity, Inspiration, LifePath, motivation, WorklifeTagged 2018, a walk to remember, Action Plan, Bangladeshi Women, Bucketlist, catalystwoman, Desi, Dreams, Experiences, Hollywood, Indian Women, Life Expectations, living your best life, log kya kahenge, mandy moore, movies, Once in a Lifetime, pakistan, Pakistani Woman, Pakistani Women, Plan of Action, South Asian Women, Sri Lankan Women, Urdu, wait, Women, Women Empowerment

For those unfamiliar with the term, a bucket-list is essentially a list of experiences one wants to gain before ‘kicking the bucket’ or ‘meeting their Maker’. Hollywood is partially responsible for making ‘The Bucket-List” concept widely popular. It has been romanticized endlessly as the ultimate gift one character can give another; they are to help the other main character cross off all of the items, travel to remote destinations and partake in kooky adventures- all this mentioned on the bucket-list before they die.

Ever seen Mandy Moore’s ‘A Walk to Remember’ ? One of Jamie’s wishes is to be in two places at the same time, so Landon makes it happen:

It is easy to see the allure in choosing this concept for moviemakers as it makes for a straightforward plot line. But here, on this blog, we are sticking to the real world.

I say down with the bucket-list! Enough with adding bullet-points upon bullet-points to soothe the frustrated soul and the impatient mind into believing that you will, indeed, take a big juicy bite out of Life- Someday.

As a South Asian woman, especially as a Pakistani woman in today’s world, the lingering narrative is to ‘wait’ – wait until you are married to travel, wait for approval from a large, faceless ominous presence called “log” (a Desi-Urdu term for community) before choosing your major for graduate school, wait until the kids are older before going back to work (or to begin working in the first place!), wait for a better time for your partner before trying out a side hustle – just keep waiting.

If you are reading this, you are practically enrolled in the Catalyst Woman movement. I will let you in on a little secret- us Catalyst Women, we do not wait for change to happen – we are the ones who make it happen!

Ease off the brakes and gently push down upon the accelerator when it comes to living your best life in 2018. Replace the winding scroll of travel destinations, quirky hobbies and languages to learn with a point-by-point Action Plan. Rather than dampen your dreams (and your spirit) by banishing them to a distant, undefined point in the future, try feeding the same list into a task management tool like Asana and start figuring out the logistics for attaining “Experience #1”.

Be realistic about what resources you have at hand – so that means taking a long, hard look at whether you have the basic requirements sorted – the savings, the passport,the right credentials- before embarking on “Experience #1”. Worst case scenario? You’ll find out exactly what needs to be done before you can scale Mt. Kilimanjaro or enroll in vegan cooking classes. Add that to your ‘to-do’ list and get cracking!

If your dreams are founded upon undeniable aspirations, they deserve a chance to be actualized. No one will give you express permission to do so – not your boss, not your partner, not your pets- so you will need to be practical, focused and find motivation from within yourself about it all.

What is more logical and practical than an action plan?!

ICYMI : Uber in Pakistan + Women Right’s Bill

Posted on March 8, 2016March 8, 2016 Posted in Blog, Culture, Feminism, gender, Pakistan, Technology, WomenTagged Cyber Crime, Domestic Violence, Economic Abuse, gender, Gender in Pakistan, ICYMI, Justice, Law making, Laws, Laws in Pakistan, Laws in Punjab, Pakistani Women, Protection of Women Against Violence Bill, Punjab Protection of Women Against Violence Bill 2016, Sexual Harassment Training, Swift Justice, Uber, Uber in Pakistan, Women's Day 2016, Women's Rights in Pakistan

**ICYMI – The most tweet-worthy stories in #Gender in #Pakistan this week:

Source: Propakistani.pk Website & Dawn Website

Uber in Pakistan features in both the #gender and the #tech category this week, as Dawn/Reuters covers Uber Pakistan’s efforts to allay fears about conduct of it’s workforce with upfront sexual harassment training. This follows the company being banned in Delhi after a driver was convicted of raping a passenger back in 2014.

What I found infinitely more interesting than the news story itself were the comments below. The screen shots below captures exactly how divided us Pakistanis are when it comes to the rights of women in the public space. One commentator sincerely recommends women be accompanied by ‘kids or other relatives’ while using the app-based taxi service.

Screen Shot 2016-03-09 at 12.24.13 am

Another takes it upon themselves to reduce it down for all us simple folk. Stop getting into cars alone, Wimmin! Where’s your common sense?!

Screen Shot 2016-03-09 at 12.24.27 am

Focusing in on the faulty editing, notice the title of the article : Uber teaches Pakistani Drivers how not to sexually harass women? So, are there preferred practices for such vile behaviour? A less loaded title could have been ‘ Uber launches mandatory sexual harassment prevention training for Drivers’. I was glad to see that another reader had already caught the lazy editing and proceeded to comment on it (captured below).

Screen Shot 2016-03-09 at 2.32.02 am

Perhaps one of the MOST exciting tickers I have read – Punjab passes the Punjab Protection of Women against Violence Bill – amidst massive uproar and opposition across the country. This news has reignited the debate on what constitutes mistreatment of women and whether these actions should be punishable by law.

“…Punjab Protection of Women Against Violence Bill redefines “violence” to include “any offence committed against a woman including abetment of an offence, domestic violence, emotional, psychological and verbal abuse, economic abuse, stalking or a cyber crime”.

(excerpt from Dawn’s Pakistan’s historic women’s rights bill praised by activists)

Debates on t.v. reached a fever pitch as some male guests on news shows tried to defend the minority view that this bill is ‘un-Islamic’ or flawed in some grand way that harms society as it stands. Thankfully, those opinions were quickly shot down by most anchors and co-guests! Even though the lame ‘what if something happened to your daughter/sister/mother/wife’ line was invoked once or twice during the discussions, overall the sentiment was that this bill is just a stepping block towards securing swift justice for women in abusive situations.

Some rightly note that there are many invisible, cultural hurdles before women in Punjab can actively break free from cyclical abuse. However, this law’s passing is being celebrated for it’s timeliness in addressing the increase in cyber-harassment and cybercrime targeted at women on the web.

“…The law not only caters to addressing psychological and emotional harm to women, but also includes stalking and cybercrime as punishable offences. The reason why this is important is because there is a tremendous momentum to silence women online — not just their sexuality but their very presence on social media as well as in terms of their freedom to have an email. For women, the Internet is not just about access, it is about escape. It is the gateway through which they learn skills and rights — all of which lead to empowerment and a shift away from all pervasive abuse.”

(excerpt from This law may be late, but it’s great by Aisha Sarwari on Express Tribune Blog)

** In Case You Missed It

I would love to hear your thoughts about the new ‘ICYMI’ blogpost concept. Drop me an email talktocatalystwoman @ gmail dot com , tweet @ Catalystwoman or write a note on the Contact Page.

IMHO:Every Day is Women’s Day

Posted on March 8, 2016 Posted in Blog, Feminism, WomenTagged Blog, Catalyst Woman, catalystwoman, emotional labor, International Women's Day, International Women's Day 2016, pakistan, Pakistani Women, Sheroes, Women's Day, Women's Day 2016

According to social media today is International Women’s Day 2016.

Every day is Women’s Day. **

Every day will remain Women’s Day until being a woman and being a professional is no longer exceptional, rather it’s the rule.

Every day will remain Women’s Day until being a mother and working full-time will be a choice made out of free will rather than financial constraints.

Every day will remain Women’s Day until we run out of ‘First’s to attach to a female executive, legislator, politician, academic, prize-winner, artist, and so on.

Everyday will remain Women’s Day until writing ‘homemaker’ in the box marked occupation is a recognized as a form of skilled labor, with pay and all the other privileges of traditional 9-5 jobs.

Every day will remain Women’s Day until the invisible burden of Emotional Labour is evenly distributed amongst all relationships, women AND men.

**Send in your ideas – complete the phrase ‘ Every day will remain Women’s Day until…’ and tweet @catalystwoman or email talktocatalystwoman at gmail dot com.

“Phir ban gaya na, equal -equal” – Fair and Lovely takes a Jab at Fairness in Adulting expectations

Posted on February 25, 2016February 25, 2016 Posted in Blog, Career, Feminism, Pakistan, Women, Worklife, WritingTagged Adult, Career Aspirations, Career Expectations, catalystwoman, Double-standard, Fair and Lovely, Finance, gender, Gender Equality, Gender Equity, Hypocrisy, Indian Women, Life, Life Expectations, pakistan, Pakistani Community, Pakistani Women, Savings, Societal Expectations, South Asia, South Asian Women, worklife

You *must* have eye-rolled at this fairness cream ad by now. It depicts a father-daughter duo jogging in a park when the father pitches a potential suitor who has EVERYTHING a young girl could desire ‘a good job, his own house, well-settled’. Since this is a fairness cream commercial, based in India but also shown in Pakistan, the young woman gains confidence to ward off the potential suitor with her OWN plan to get a ‘good job, her own car, etc’ in three years.

Surprisingly, my issue this time around with the fairness creme advertisement is not that the systematic bleaching of one’s skin makes a woman not only more beautiful, but also endows her with wit and savvy. (That is a long-standing objection with the prejudicial and superficial approach that such beauty cream adverts take when marketing to multi-complexion communities such as Pakistan. No complexion takes precedence over another.)

She is effectively bargaining with her parents/guardians for a paltry three years to put into play all that she has learned at university (even Life) before entering into an arranged marriage situation. hqdefault

Can Fair & Lovely ad execs back up the claim that Snow White makes that she can accomplish all the markings of financial and vocational success fresh out of university in 3 years? a car, home, “good job” in THIS global economy? It is impossible to afford a home independently on just a Bachelor’s degree in Pakistan or India, especially within three years of graduation.

Going with the general dynamics when desi folks go ‘rishta’-ing, it is likely that that the potential groom is at least 5 to 7 years older than our formerly- dark and distressed damsel. Why does this invisible casanova of her father’s dreams get a minimum 5 year advantage on the whole ‘success’ aspect?

This ad reinforces that the double-standard that is glaringly relevant in Pakistani and Indian communities the world over; if a young woman is to experience her adulthood as singleton, she MUST be achieving the very pinnacle of vocational, educational and social success. That, too, on a considerably shorter deadline (leash?) than her male counterparts; to be exact, before her ‘looks’ or ‘charm’ fade into oblivion.

F&L, if you are listening, this may be the one time I will applaud you for illustrating just how drastically societal expectations for young men and women vary, especially when it comes to leading one’s life as an Adult.

What do you think? Drop me a tweet @catalystwoman.

Step-Up Workshops : Employability & Empowerment for Pakistani Women

Posted on November 1, 2015 Posted in Blog, Career, Coaching, Consulting, Women, WorklifeTagged career, Career Counseling, Employability, Employability Skills, Empowering Women, pakistan, Pakistani Women, Social Change, Social Development, Step Up Workshops, Women, Working Women

I run self-empowerment, employability skills and digital literacy workshops for young professional women, minorities and economically disadvantaged youth under the banner of Step-Up Workshops.

With my team, our focus is to offer discounted workshops and resource materials that counter common obstacles for women/minorities in the workplace/hiring scenarios.

#1 One Reason for Millennial Women to be Financially Literate

Posted on September 30, 2015September 30, 2015 Posted in Blog, Coaching, Culture, Education, EduTech, Millennials, Pakistan, Podcast, Technology, Women, WritingTagged asia, Banking, Catalyst Woman, College Students, Empowering Women, Empowerment, Finance, Financial Awareness, Financial Independence, Financial Literacy, Financial Literate, Financially Independent Women, Millennial, Millennial Women, Money Smart, Money Wise, pakistan, Pakistani, Pakistani University Students, Pakistani Women, Personal Finance, South Asian Women, Technology, University Students, Women, Young Women

Blog Series: 10 Reasons For Millennial Women To Be Financially Literate

Are you Financially Literate?

Being financially literate goes beyond knowing how much savings one has in the bank; it means possessing the ability for informed financial decision-making. I will be sharing the top ten reasons why Millennials Women MUST dominate their finances and what that looks like – beyond the jargon.

The Number One Reason for Millennial Women to be Financially Literate

#1 – FOMO is a Trap

FOMO. Fear of Missing Out. According to the dictionary :

FO·MO ˈfōmō/ noun informal noun: FOMO

anxiety that an exciting or interesting event may currently be happening elsewhere, often aroused by posts seen on a social media website.”I realized I was a lifelong sufferer of FOMO”

The important words in the definition are “social media” and “anxiety”. Social Media posts by other people, especially acquaintances or the random troll, can be annoying, but Anxiety-Causing? Turns out this is a real issue – we can literally feel disconnected and dissatisfied with life due to the perceived success and contentment of our peers and idols.

There is nothing wrong with staying up-to-date with our friends’ lives, but when FOMO sets in, we start comparing and evaluating our lived experiences – unconsciously. That is damaging behaviour.

If you have ever felt the need to constantly check your Instagram or Facebook Timeline while out with friends, that is what FOMO looks like. The theory is that social media, with its sheer speed and glossy selfies, overwhelms users with imagery that is picture-perfect. In-fact, that is exactly what it is – Too Good To Be True.

While our rational mind is well-aware of the fact, the subconscious gets triggered by these posts and creates a nervous energy – a nervous energy that is often channeled, at a HUGE disadvantage to your wallet, by going shopping.

See enough pictures of your ex-boss’s new Ferrari and chances are you are gonna want to a) Buy a Ferrari or b) Realize you can’t afford a Ferrari and eat a tub of Chocolate Ice Cream or c) Go shopping and buy yourself another scented candle set to gloss over the feeling of overwhelm. If this happens enough times, you will be making decisions triggered by outside influences – including how you spend your money- rather than by rational thinking and planning for what suits you best.

Still not convinced that FOMO is dangerous to your financial health? According to Yahoo Finance, the need to keep up with friends has resulted in 56% of Canadians aged 18 to 30 to live beyond their means. Their purchasing decisions are the result of social pressure from Instagrammed selfies and Snapchat clips, often with luxury brands popping up.

So, the number one reason that Millennial Women should be Financially Literate is that FOMO or Fear of Missing Out is a trap. It is an anxiety-ridden behaviour that often results in overspending that ruins your budget and fills nothing but your closet.

Coming Up Next –> Cut It Out! The Expenses! Stick to a Budget!

Like what you read? Want to ask me a question about personal finance? Drop me an email at talktocatalystwoman @ gmail.com or visit my Facebook page.

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