An all-girls team representing Pakistan, a country where gender equality is more abstract than real, competed at the Students for the Advancement of Global Entrepreneurship (SAGE) World Cup in August 2014 in Moscow, Russia and emerged victorious. Roshaan Khan, Ayesha Saifullah and Sadia Kanwal of Pakistan made up the winning team.

Rural areas, communities with a rigid outlook on the role of women and religious seminaries- not the combination that would appear likely to produce a group of young women who would qualify for an international competition.

The group of young women who qualified for this international competition were products of rural Pakistan, typically rigid communities facing challenging circumstances on issues of women’s role in public life and religious seminaries. This makes their achievement all the more laudable.

“I still could not believe that I went to Moscow from a small town like Jhang to represent Pakistan,” says Ayesha. Her teammate, Roshaan adds, “We never thought our work would be admired by so many countries.”

‘Work’ is a small word for what the team has pulled off. SAGE  is an initiative that endeavours to produce ‘the next generation of entrepreneurial leaders’.  Towards this end, SAGE holds an annual World Cup, at which national teams of young people aged 13 to 19 years, present their projects to a panel consisting of prominent members from civic, education and business sectors.

The Pakistan team’s project, titled The Right Step, has been supported by British Council Pakistan  and YES Network Pakistan, and has enabled young girls at religious seminaries in rural Punjab to acquire computer literacy, and business and entrepreneurial skills. For young women constrained by patriarchy and socioeconomic restrictions, this allowed them to gain practical skills that enhanced their employability, and freed them from the binds of prejudice and dependency on their male counterparts.  

According to Ali Raza Khan, CEO- YES Network Pakistan, “Our efforts are helping to produce young social entrepreneurs to shift society’s viewpoint from  ‘me’ to ‘us’ and eventually to ‘all of us’. Building a stronger sense of connection builds empathy, and with empathy comes a stronger base for structural changes.”

The team of passionate young women also won the National Enterprise Award Competition in 2012, and further qualified as the runner-up at the regional level as well.

The project falls under the British Council’s Skills for Employability programme and contributes to the objective of promoting and supporting skills development in Pakistan through national reforms and linkages between education and industry. 

The spirit behind the project and its success is captured by Nishat Riaz, Director Education, British Council Pakistan, who attended the Moscow event: “We witnessed the real power of youth creativity in a pluralistic world with over a 100 young fellows from across the globe. Glad that the British Council had a key role in encouraging young talent, and in breaking barriers for underprivileged communities in rural areas. This is an example of impact where small contributions bring major changes through inclusion and social enterprise. It is a rare pleasure to be with an inspiring group of teenage girls representing Pakistan!”