International Women's Day, A commitment to Social Development
International Women's Day, A commitment to Social Development
#internationalwomensday #womenempowerment #bakhabarsavera #arynews
#internationalwomensday #womenempowerment #bakhabarsavera #arynews
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00:00 Welcome back once again.
00:01 And as promised,
00:03 as we told you that today's show is about women.
00:07 So we will introduce you to such women
00:11 who have made their profession a living legend.
00:14 And not only have they achieved something,
00:18 but they are also an inspiration for others.
00:21 So today we are introducing you to a woman, Sana Shakeel,
00:26 who is from Banil Akwami Idara, Karim, Pakistan.
00:29 And she is a Head of Business Development.
00:34 We have seen her before in many Banil Akwami Idara's
00:37 important posts.
00:38 She has been a part of Karim's team for 4 years.
00:40 So we have invited her to the studio today.
00:42 Today is the day when women are celebrated.
00:45 So happy Women's Day to you.
00:46 Thank you. Thank you so much.
00:47 And thank you so much for coming, ma'am.
00:49 So first of all, tell us about your professional career.
00:53 And as a Head of Business Development,
00:56 where did this career start?
00:58 And I feel uncomfortable asking this question,
01:01 but because we live in such a society,
01:03 we have to ask, being a woman,
01:05 what difficulties did you face?
01:07 My overall work experience is 15-16 years plus.
01:12 And I think the biggest challenge I faced
01:14 when I started my job was because at that time,
01:17 there was a mindset of a male-dominating society,
01:20 of these stereotypes, that a woman's job is to stay at home,
01:24 to cook food, to get married, and to have children.
01:28 So for me, every step of the way,
01:30 as I progressed,
01:32 I had to explain to people that,
01:35 "Okay, that is a part of my life,
01:37 but I have to move forward."
01:39 I think that was the biggest challenge,
01:41 and that challenge is ongoing
01:43 because you have to interact with every mindset.
01:46 The second biggest challenge I face,
01:49 because I am a working mother,
01:51 is that it is very difficult for me to manage my work-life balance.
01:55 And a lot of times, I have to sacrifice,
01:59 I have to compromise,
02:00 and I have to let a lot of events go.
02:02 Because if I am in 9-5 offices,
02:04 then my daughter doesn't sleep until 5,
02:06 and I try to look after her.
02:08 So this balance is a huge challenge.
02:11 24 hours, you are like on job.
02:13 Yes.
02:14 The role of women in leadership is very rare in Pakistan.
02:18 Most of the time, we women,
02:20 when we go into any profession,
02:22 we are in a position where,
02:25 you are not given such a heavy task,
02:27 you are not trusted.
02:28 Yes.
02:29 So how did you achieve that?
02:31 Do you understand why there are no other women in that?
02:34 Basically, what happens is,
02:36 you are given a platform,
02:38 in which you come, perform,
02:40 and work with a mental stability.
02:43 In Pakistan, unfortunately,
02:46 there are very few mentors,
02:47 and very few companies that invest in women.
02:51 One woman comes to work,
02:55 and then she gets married,
02:57 which is a part of life.
02:59 And then she has a child.
03:00 And when she has a child,
03:01 then the priorities shift.
03:02 That is the time when you have to take a lot of care,
03:07 because there are only the first 2-3 months,
03:08 where you don't understand how to balance.
03:11 Once you understand that,
03:13 then you can balance and work.
03:15 And I am very happy to say that,
03:18 in Karim Pakistan,
03:19 if you look at our leadership females,
03:22 then you will find women in 40-50% of the leadership roles.
03:26 Great.
03:27 Apart from that,
03:29 it varies from company to company.
03:30 If I talk about my current company,
03:33 then they work a lot on women's training and empowerment.
03:38 You must have heard that we don't just have male captains,
03:42 but we also have a lot of female captains.
03:45 And because there are women in leadership,
03:48 they take care of the female captains,
03:51 and they go to their homes.
03:53 Because of us.
03:54 So, a working environment,
03:58 a mindset,
03:59 and your self-confidence,
04:00 these things matter a lot,
04:02 when you come into a work organization.
04:04 But, regarding women empowerment,
04:08 as a society, as a country,
04:10 where are we standing?
04:11 And what we have heard,
04:14 that it is like this in foreign countries,
04:16 but in many cases,
04:18 we have seen this kind of gender discrimination there as well.
04:21 Where do we stand?
04:22 Where do we need to go?
04:24 Look, if you go back 15 years,
04:29 I don't think there will be any woman
04:31 who will go anywhere in anyone's car.
04:33 True, that is true.
04:36 The industry shift that came,
04:38 and the way people embraced tech,
04:40 now you see,
04:41 4.3 million females have traveled with Kareem.
04:45 I think, women will be more customers of Kareem.
04:49 Yes, because many people used to be dependent,
04:52 now they don't have to depend on anyone.
04:54 They get a safe, secure environment.
04:56 That is true.
04:56 They sit in the car,
04:58 share details,
04:59 and reach their location.
05:01 So, I think that we are still progressing,
05:06 we haven't reached there yet,
05:07 but eventually we will.
05:08 But do you think that it will be more,
05:10 because there is a possibility of improvement,
05:13 and the way you are doing it in the digital world,
05:15 the way there is globalization,
05:16 the way we are seeing the world move forward,
05:20 within days, within months,
05:21 things are progressing,
05:22 there are changes, new innovations are coming.
05:25 There is a need to do more,
05:27 so that women's journey,
05:28 or anyone's journey,
05:29 let's talk about children,
05:31 they can be given more comfort,
05:32 and with ease,
05:33 and safe.
05:34 They can be made safe.
05:35 Okay, so if I talk about safe,
05:38 so Kareem is the only ride-hailing company,
05:42 which provides you with the in-ride call service.
05:46 So, if any person is sitting in the car,
05:49 and feels that he is not safe,
05:51 he can easily call.
05:53 So, we do not compromise on safety and security,
05:56 that is our no-go area.
05:58 Apart from that, we have teams,
06:00 which literally monitor,
06:02 that a person is travelling,
06:04 and he reaches safely.
06:05 We have a captain's assessment,
06:07 you see if the vehicle is in working condition or not,
06:11 and if you are so safe,
06:14 I mean Kareem,
06:15 and we work on so much security,
06:17 that if you want to talk to your captain,
06:20 we have launched a feature called fall masking,
06:23 you click on it,
06:24 your number will not go,
06:26 you will not even get the captain's number,
06:27 but you can talk to him and reach safely.
06:30 And what about female captains?
06:33 Yes.
06:34 It is difficult for them too,
06:35 if they are driving.
06:36 We have some people here,
06:38 people's temperament is still there,
06:39 there will be changes.
06:40 What are their problems,
06:42 and how do you handle that?
06:43 The good thing about females,
06:46 because our leadership is also female,
06:48 so like Captain Rukhsana,
06:50 Asma Shakti,
06:51 we have a lot of captains,
06:52 with whom we are one-on-one,
06:53 and we understand,
06:55 what challenges they are facing.
06:57 So, it is our responsibility as captains,
07:01 the customer rating feature is very important,
07:04 which mostly customers and captains,
07:06 I think they miss out.
07:07 It is very important to tell,
07:08 because people ignore it.
07:09 Yes, that tells us exactly,
07:11 when the problem came to the female captain,
07:14 or the female candidate,
07:16 and then we get a chance to work on it.
07:18 But apart from this,
07:19 we have constant trainings,
07:21 we have captain batik sessions,
07:23 in which we invite captains,
07:25 to listen to their problems,
07:27 and we resolve their issues.
07:31 Okay, in the end, Ms. Sana,
07:32 tell me, on this day,
07:34 what message would you like to give,
07:35 not only to women,
07:36 because today is your day.
07:38 But to those men,
07:41 who are part of this society,
07:43 to those men,
07:44 who understand this day,
07:45 and to those who don't.
07:47 The biggest thing is,
07:48 self-confidence,
07:49 I think it is very important.
07:51 You should know in your life,
07:53 what you want to do,
07:54 and where you want to go.
07:56 Second, I would say,
07:57 don't be afraid.
07:58 I mean, work,
08:00 move forward,
08:01 and it will be easy.
08:03 And third,
08:03 it is very important for men too,
08:06 I have moved forward,
08:06 because I had a support system,
08:09 and I had peace,
08:10 from the side of my family,
08:11 and my husband and child.
08:13 So, understand the dynamics of the market,
08:16 and move forward,
08:17 and move together,
08:18 so that you can move towards prosperity.
08:21 Great, and what should I say,
08:24 that now we will see more female captains,
08:27 some such mission,
08:28 some such drive is going to come,
08:29 because if we empower women,
08:31 they can contribute a lot to your economy.
08:34 Yes, we are working on this,
08:36 and God willing,
08:37 you will see that more female captains will be added.
08:41 Okay, thank you so much.
08:42 Thank you so much.