Champions of Change

Shaheen Kausar

The challenging journey of 57 years old Shaheen Kausar, from Lahori gate area, began with Kashf Foundation when she was 40 years old. The men in her life, at first her father and later her husband, were extremely conservative and restricted women in their family within the four walls of the house. When she was 40, she heard about Kashf Foundation from women in her community and despite resistance from her husband, decided to join the organization as a Business Development Officer. Life continued to be hard on her as her husband passed away soon after she started her career at Kashf. Distressed with her situation, Shaheen decided to give up her job. However, all her colleagues at Kashf, including other BDOs, BMs and the Area Manager convinced her that she needed to be financially independent in order to secure her children’s future. Her managers supported her extensively, provided her flexibility during her work hours and facilitated her throughout. Shaheen continued with her job and became financially equipped to the extent that her son has now completed his Chartered Accountancy and her daughter is pursuing her undergraduate degree. She is role model to look up to as she overcame all constraints and challenges and remained undeterred despite all odds!

Ammara Nasir- Branch Manager

“Since I was born, I lived with my grandparents in Lahore but when my grandfather passed away, I had to face the harsh realities of life. I had nowhere to go and could not go back to my mother who had remarried. Suddenly forced out of the secure, safety net and comforts of a home, I matured overnight.

A job at Kashf became my stepping stone and my first challenge was to learn how to curtail and manage expenses both at work and in personal life. I started off as a branch accountant and when I first joined, I did not even know how to talk to clients. My hands used to shake every time a client walked in but overtime, I overcame my fears. Through various trainings provided by Kashf, I learnt how to deal with client portfolios, developed social skills and gained financial independence.

Today, I am the first daughter in law among 6 others in the family who works. I get a lot of respect for being a working woman and everyone seeks my advice in major decisions of the household. I am motivated to fight harder and to excel in things that I never dreamed of doing before,”
says Ammara Nasir, now Branch Manager at FatehGarh Branch.