‘Every woman in service is my role model’

Islamabad: Rawalpindi-based Zoha Malik Sher is the youngest of five sisters who have succeeded in the country’s Central Superior Services (CSS) exams.

She has cleared the written test of the CSS exams announced on Thursday October 10, and is now preparing for the interview.

Zoha Malik’s father Malik Rafiq Awan is a retired employee of Water And Power Development Authority (WAPDA).

“My father particularly took great care that we sisters availed and enjoyed ourselves all those opportunities that boys got. He asked us never to feel shy or weak being women and it worked wonders for us,” said Zoha.

Zoha has done her Masters in International Relations (IR) from Islamabad’s National Defence University (NDU). She is fond of pets and currently she has a female German Shepherd that is a great company in leisure hours.

Zoha said she always saw her father showing great regard and respect towards women particularly working women. He never reconciled to the fact women workers in the fields or doing petty jobs were handed less wages than their male counterparts.

“Today, when I look around and see working women doing at the same time jobs, raising kids, playing their role as housewives despite the fact their services are not fully acknowledged, I cannot help but agree with my father they are our true role models,” Zoha said.

An officer in the making?

Zoha’s four elder sisters Laila, Shireen, Sassi and Marvi are distinguished officers of the federal government.

Laila Malik Sher (Deputy Commissioner Federal Board of Revenue Karachi) was the first to pass the exam in 2008 and lay the foundation for her sisters.

Shireen Malik Sher (Director National Highway Authority) passed the exam in 2010, Sassi Malik Sher (CEO -Under Training Lahore Cantonment) and Marvi Malik Sher (Assistant Commissioner Abbotabad) in 2017.

Zoha is happy at being the focus of the media’s attention and hopes her story will motivate other women also to avail themselves of opportunities that lie on their way and compete with male counterparts. “Ours is a patriarchal society and women have to do extra hard work to get recognition and I am fully confident Pakistani women are equally rather more talented. They only need to realise their potential,” said Zoha.

“My sister’s class fellow and human rights and minority activist Kapil Dev first broke the news on his twitter account then it went viral,” said she.

Although I have qualified only the written examination yet I am being treated as if I had already gone through the interview and allocated one of the top three groups.

This is double-edged sword as the level of expectations from friends and general public has gone up and I am afraid some news channel might run something that I have not said, she said requesting the media not to quote her or attribute to her unverified reports.