This is an inspiring tale of one of the courageous daughters of Balochistan. Belonging from Makran Division, Shazia Akhtar Baloch is a Secondary school Teacher in Turbat. Shazia was always fond of receiving higher education. However, there have always been social and cultural barriers regarding female education in the province. All these circumstance never shattered her faith as she had a strong belief that obstacles in our life always give us opportunities to improve our state of affairs. Therefore, she remained constant in struggling to get educational opportunities.

Shazia’s approach always remained positive in the patriarchal society and hard work remained her priority. Fortunately, she came to know about the Teaching Excellence and Achievement program (The TEA Program) which provides outstanding in-service Pakistani secondary school teachers of English Language with a six-week academic program at a university in United States. Having bright vision and objective of ensuring Baloch female representation in any forum she gets, Shazia applied for ‘The TEA Program’ in 2017 and got selected. After successfully completing the program, Shazia became source of inspiration and motivation for many women in Baloch Community. After returning to Pakistan, she became Vice president of PUAN-Gwadar Chapter. It’s constant struggle, positive approach, and courage which she attributes to helping shape her path to success today. Shazia promotes Girls’ Education because she is women empowerment-oriented female. She motivates Baloch Teachers and Students to take part in U.S Funded Exchange programs. She simply wants to see Baloch Women as productive members of society.

PUAN wishes her all the best for future endeavors and may she always remain a source of inspiration for women!