Collectively we can all Break The Bias by doing our part to create a gender-equal world. “A world free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination. A world that is diverse, equitable, and inclusive. A world where difference is valued and celebrated. Together we can forge women’s equality.”
Have you ever felt there’s a societal bias towards men living in the society, while we women still struggle to get equal rights? Do you ever feel like you want to break the bias but don’t know how to? Let us tell you, it starts with you. This International Women’s Day, let’s join hands and make individual efforts to break the bias.
This year’s International Women’s Day theme resonates with us at FUCHSIA Magazine and this is how Team FUCHSIA is breaking the bias or plans to do so to make this women’s day much more meaningful. We can’t bring change overnight but there’s no harm in starting a conversation, right?
Shazia Habib – Owner & Editor
I thought long and hard about what it was I wanted to change or challenge myself to do. There are so many causes to uphold, perspectives to rethink or re-spin but then, the one place I feel it all begins is from within… from me.
So this year March 8th Women’s Day, I make a pledge to start with myself. I want to challenge myself to break the bias within my mind, my thinking and my attitude. Every time my mind says I can’t, because I’m not strong enough, smart enough, experienced enough, young enough or… man enough, I will say I Can!
I can only ask others to do what I attempt to do myself. Break the Bias by moving the goal post, Stretching your boundaries and telling yourself there is nothing I can’t do if I truly set my mind to it. Make a pledge with yourself to break the bias within. It all starts with you.
Rabia Mughni – Editor
Farah Haq – Editor
Areesha Khan – Managing Editor
As a 20-something in Pakistan, I want to break the bias by ensuring that women are appreciated for the positive change they bring to society – no matter how small. Now, more than ever, women change-makers need a platform where they are publically applauded and acknowledged so they can inspire the next generation to realise that nothing is out of their reach. Thankfully, my role at FUCHSIA allows me to actively carry out that plan and in the next couple of months, I hope to showcase women that are doing their part to further societal well-being.
Anooshah Shuja – Content Lead
As a 23 year old living in Pakistan, I have come across way too many instances (more than I’d like to admit) of sheer hypocrisy in our society. As I grow older, I find myself questioning a lot of seemingly “normal” ways of how our society works and has been working for the past few decades. Yes, change doesn’t happen overnight. Yes, we cannot break down decades-old biased customs that are so deeply ingrained in us that even our mothers don’t realise they are victims and let, rather, facilitate their daughters to fall into the same trap.
But, this ends with me. I do not plan to give into this gender bias when I get married. My husband and I will be a unit, working together to make a home, it won’t be just one person’s job, especially if both of us have jobs. And one day if I have a son, I will teach him the same thing. If his sister and mother can make food and serve the guests, so can he. This is how I plan to break the bias and challenge society’s double standards because it has to start somewhere and from someone.
Perisha Syed – Content Creator
“Start small, go big. That’s the motto. Hurdles come and go so it’s best to fight through them and the world’s criticism. You do you and no-one can tell you otherwise.”
Perisha here. A 20-year-old just paving her way through life and making sense out of it too. We live in a world where our choices are questioned, people commenting on our looks, weight and so much more. This is the case for Pakistan especially and I’m sure a majority of girls face these challenges. Stepping out of my comfort zone, exploring and breaking some of our society’s set rules, and going beyond the patriarchal boundaries is something I plan on doing in the future, and so should young girls. Step out into the world, explore it on your own, live life on your own terms. And most importantly, be independent. It goes a long way.
These are my ingredients to happiness and how I plan on breaking the bias. What about you?
Emaan Rehman – Digital Content Manager
Society can not tell me how to carry out my life as a woman. I will dress how I feel like, I will work in the field of my interest, I will be financially & emotionally independent if I want to, I will choose a husband for myself on my own, and I will give birth to a child or adopt a kid by my own choice.
Our society never gets tired of asking a woman what’s next at any point in our lives. I am sure girls like me are tired of being asked when they are getting married or why they don’t look like a matchstick physically and how will they bear the burden of marriage if they don’t know how to cook & handle motherhood. Hence, far from these backward desi ideologies, I practice healthy communication with my family & friends about how essential it is now for a woman to put a stop to such senseless questions. Therefore, as an example in my own family, from how I want to look to my career & personal life decisions, all are done solely by me. I want my younger female cousins & some of my friends to stop letting society dictate their lives. At the end of the day, what matters is your happiness & the satisfaction you get from life.
Zainab Mossadiq – Content Creator
Hi there! My name is Zainab Mossadiq and as a student and an 18-year-old in a developing country, I feel that our small actions can bring about big changes. On a personal level, I have always tried to teach my younger brother what gender equality means. I have been vocal about what my rights are and how I deserve to be treated as a sister. Parallel to that, I have never abstained from giving him his rights and aided him in expressing himself; because I feel that the biases can only be broken when both genders feel secure and protected.
On the other hand, professionally I have thrived to ensure that I bring to the table the qualities that make a woman stand out and use them to my advantage, for instance, empathy. Maybe I have led the most number of competitions in my school for this reason. In the end, I believe that biases don’t break within a day, but they require ceaseless and conscious effort, and thus we all must keep on doing what we can do best in our capacities.
What Are You Doing To Break The Bias?
This year, the United Nations declared the theme of International Women’s Day as ‘Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow’. Tell us how you’re breaking the bias in your own way by tweeting with the hashtag #BreakTheBias. We look forward to hearing from you!
