Like most women in Pakistan, Pari Badi-ul-Jamal had to fight for her right to an education that she wanted. From a young age, she aimed higher than her social standing as a girl child in a traditional family would allow her, and that is what she counts as a success.
After fighting for her right to do O Levels like her brother, Pari’s dream of enrolling into A Levels was quashed when her father let her brother study in A Levels but gave into naysaying by relatives about girls education. She had the better grades, but apparently the wrong gender.
However, her success seemed temporary. Even as she completed her O Levels with top grades, her request to do A Levels was denied while her brother was allowed to carry on studying in A Levels. Family members and relatives didn’t quite help as they
regurgitated social stereotypes that exist to halt girls’ education.
“Everyone told my father that she’s “just” a daughter who’ll end up getting married so why spend more money on her?” shares Pari, recalling the tough times. “Sadly, my father got convinced and I was on my own. I told him his decision was acceptable if the issue was financial issues, but not acceptable if it was because of discrimination.”
Dejected but not defeated, Pari became a teacher at the age of 14 in a local school where her academic credentials spoke for themselves. She saved her salary and enrolled in A Levels in the same school to prove that she was unstoppable.
Her pursuit of education led her to the Institute of Space Technology in Islamabad from where she graduated with a degree in Space Science, Remote Sensing and Geographic Information System. Once she returned home in Sialkot, a chance opportunity landed her the job of Sales Manager for Lay’s with PepsiCo. It was an opportunity to achieve independence and empowerment through the role, which wouldn’t take her away too far away from home either. She wanted to challenge and defeat gender stereotypes and it was better that her struggle started from her home and hometown.
The switch was a conscious decision. “I believe we should be working to make a difference in our own communities and cities, in our own homeland. Working with PepsiCo provided me that chance.”
Her hard work and passion led to her being selected to lead the newly launched women’s economic empowerment, mainstreaming and continued inclusion project called “Sheroes”. Under this ambitious project, PepsiCo set up an all-women sales and distribution center in Sialkot and Pari was the pioneering Shero.
Since Sales are considered a male-only vocation, Pari had to face and overcome many challenges. Men in the field couldn’t see women doing sales and distribution roles, let alone running a whole set up. Yet Pari, with the mentorship of Ahmad Sarmad (Senior Area Sales Manager at PepsiCo) and PepsiCo Leadership, turned an all-male distribution center to an all-female distribution center and spearheaded the recruitment of other Sheroes. As a mentor to the newly recruited women, empowering them to break stereotypes.
Pari recalls when men in the supply chain were averse to the idea of an all-female sales and distribution set up. “They couldn’t believe it,” she says. “They said these are girls, how will they drive scooters? How will they go out into the market in a city like Sialkot? How?” But according to Pari, all of those “how” questions have now changed into delighted exclamations of “wow”.
“Girls riding scooters in Sialkot? Wow! Doing sales jobs and being led by a woman? Wow! Entire staff and guards at the distribution center are women? Wow! It’s amusing to see how women’s self-made success changes the tone of society’s questioning of us!”
For Pari, Sheroes is not just a distribution center or her story, it’s a haven for all the young professional women who are making a difference in a field that was once considered “male only”. She says every Shero has a unique story of overcoming immense odds to be here.
“If men need to take one step to achieve their goals, women must take four in comparison to reach the same goals,” she says. “But women break barriers, and women persist. I am one of those women. Sheroes are those women. There's always a need of spark that make the fire go wild! Let’s be the spark!"