There are exceptions, and some women are truly independent and self-made social entrepreneurs.
Entrepreneurship, which includes social entrepreneurship, is a term that is no longer strange to the ears of today’s Gen Z and Y generations. As someone who belongs to Gen Masu. In my capacity as one of Pakistan’s leading Ashoka Fellows (a leading social entrepreneurship fellowship started by Billy Drayton in the United States in 1980), I am deeply concerned about the fallacy of concepts such as philanthropy. I have written and spoken extensively about interchangeable uses, overlap, and convergence. , social business, entrepreneurship, social entrepreneurship.
I am now relatively unperturbed by the encroachment of capitalist approaches to social entrepreneurship, where financial gain is prioritized over purpose. Call it cowardice or realism, but I find myself trying, perhaps unwillingly, to work within the system. I aim to convey some of my concepts, stances and learnings from his over 30 years of experience in the field of social entrepreneurship.
We live in an era where the only parameter for success is the number of followers on social media platforms, and the most persuasive technique for gaining approval is not just hard work, but shameless networking. I’ve seen the line “I’m an entrepreneur” (promoting “exclusion and elitism”) hanging on the walls of many expensive “entrepreneurial hubs”) that not only tests your nerves, but also challenges your entrepreneurial skills. Your skills will also be tested. So for someone like me who doesn’t even have access to the editors of mainstream newspapers or the mysterious pipers of the social development industry, to be invited to speak to young people about social entrepreneurship, feminism, or workplace equality. is truly a miracle.
In the first two quarters of this year, I have had six opportunities to speak to mostly young people at expensive universities, major IT companies, and conferences, sharing my ideas in the broader realm of social entrepreneurship, including women’s empowerment, Innovation, shared impact. , community activities, safe workplaces, and many interrelated themes.
Old habits die hard. I have to admit that despite my best efforts to present corporate-style smart speeches and presentations, I couldn’t avoid following my heart. “Heart and Head Together” is also my model for social entrepreneurship. Some may think that I have poured my heart out and shared my stories of sadness, from the complexities of life as a Pakistani woman, from lamenting the patriarchy, from highlighting misogyny; Completely wrong. I talked about those subjects that were always close to my heart and filtered through my head. When I was young, I chose to voice these radical ideas while sitting with donors and industry moguls, and I reaped some of the losses. If you speak proactively without support, you may face undesirable consequences. It gets tricky in an environment where people are judged based on their last names, family connections, ability to win and dine, and flatter.
From a young age, I continued to emphasize the importance of connecting with people through dialect and language. Urdu is the national language and there are many other Pakistani languages. Technical and aid agencies need to consider at least the national language and seven major languages of Pakistan when allocating resources to projects that address various issues that fall under his eight MDGs and now 17 SDGs. there is.
The case of social entrepreneurship is very interesting. The aura and atmosphere that is created around this concept is that somehow the default is to wear jeans (fashionable now, but the original idea was to imitate Steve Jobs) and the latest model wraps in an upscale coffee house. Build an image of an entrepreneur who is on top and has a mobile phone. . This privileged person is a custodian of underprivileged communities and solves their problems through innovation and ultimately by going places. To maintain climate awareness and gender responsiveness, some women are also brought on board with this cozy social entrepreneurship model, and are (usually) introduced as co-founders, and in some cases as founders. Be introduced (although all resources provided by well-placed male connections are hidden). There are exceptions, and there are truly independent and self-made social entrepreneurs among women, but they are rare and never reach the “heights” that are considered the “typical.” How many of these entrepreneurs have ever been to Davos? Just a thought. As if this insult wasn’t enough, all humans (men, women, and others) who couldn’t get a job despite their qualifications or because of a lack of social protection or safety nets were made “for sale.” (No one knows how profitable this business is). Those who work as vendors are considered entrepreneurs, with well-funded “boot camps” lending case studies. How long will this drama last? I’m old enough to be surprised by such gimmicks, but this deception still makes me sad.
Over the past three years, I have noticed some great work in the digital space in the form of Urdu, Sindhi and Punjabi vlogs and podcasts by young and experienced people. Such voices should be encouraged and there should be more like them. I used to do live television broadcasting in Urdu and have also produced award-winning television series, documentaries and theater scripts. I went back to Urdu, immersed myself in it, mastered its typing, and expressed my thoughts in Urdu regularly. This initiative is just one of the many avenues I am pursuing to connect with people who are not born with the right to have, and I hope to gain fresh knowledge, information, and insight from my hard-earned expertise. We aim to empower them by
I chose English for this work, recognizing its status as the language of bureaucrats and industry leaders. I hope that the publication of this book will spark meaningful conversations in places that really matter, especially around the formal launch of medium-scale social entrepreneurship in Urdu.
Published in The Express Tribune on May 14thth2024.
like opinions and editorials Follow us on Facebook @ETOpEd Receive daily updates on all our articles on Twitter.
