Dr Faryal Razzaq is an example of what an ordinary woman can achieve in her life through pure dedication and hard work. She has a doctorate and her thesis is in emotional intelligence at the Pakistani workplace. Dr Razzaq is a gender expert and has conducted various research works on women’s socio-economic issues. She is also an accomplished trainer/research consultant with experience of working in national as well as international universities. Dr Razzaq has participated in international conferences and has worked with prestigious organisations like the British Council. How did you start your career in academia? I had always been interested in pursuing further education but my wishes were hampered due to various reasons. I was studying in BSC when I got married. My husband was in armed forces so we were posted to several places, including China. In the meantime I had two kids. When I returned from China I saw an advertisement for first intake at the Virtual University (VU). I applied to VU because my kids were still young and I didn’t want to neglect their upbringing. From my campus I guess I was one of the very few who completed their MBA in Finance on time. After that I got interested in research and applied to four universities for masters in management sciences. Luckily, the Comsats University offered me full scholarship and even a stipend. Only five others won this prestigious merit scholarship and this recognition set the bar for me very high. I became more interested in research and decided to do my part for society’s betterment. I made up my mind to do a PhD. During the completion part of my PhD thesis, I started teaching in SZABIST, Islamabad, first as visiting faculty and a year later, as full time assistant professor. The professor says there are several forms of societal discrimination that try to confine a woman’s role to home and kitchen. She witnessed the same and says it time to change this mindset You have published many research papers, is there a special one that you want to discuss with us? My research area is emotional intelligence (EQ), effective change management, women in HEIs, learning styles and leadership in welfare industry to name a few. I have had the honour of presenting my own indigenous theory and framework for workplace emotional intelligence. I have a copy righted validated scale on it too. How would you describe your political beliefs in relevance to women empowerment? I have been actively involved in research as well as philosophical discussion on woman issue on various national and international research forums. I did consultancy work and conducted a base line study for the British Council on ‘Status of Women in Higher Education’. It was a qualitative study and the in-depth interviews further strengthened my belief that it is hard for women to survive and succeed in the academia. We as women still have a long way to go. I personally believe women empowerment can be achieved by encouraging them to make decisions that are in their interests and not under familial and societal pressures. When women start making independent decisions then I believe gender equality can be achieved. What according to you has been your biggest achievement so far? Academically my published researches in HEC recognised journals, national and international conferences are my achievements but I have also had the honour of conducting trainings through prestigious groups like the community world services, a consortium of 70 countries and member ACT Alliance. I have also been invited to conduct trainings in Malaysia and Turkey. In addition I have trained faculty members of MS/PhD of seven leading universities of Pakistan, including Punjab University. However, I think my greatest achievement is that I tried my best to raise my kids the best way I could. I still believe in Mother Teresa’s saying that the most important work will be within the confines of your own home. Do you think that a detailed and comprehensive research is required to study the life of Pakistani women? Absolutely! There are so many biases and social constructs that try to confine a woman’s role to home and kitchen. I myself encountered these biases and it is high time that we change this mindset. For this Herculean task we need comprehensive researches that identify the causes and way forward to an educated society that offers equal opportunity to men and women. Do you think women have a future in academia? I think (and my researches also supports the notion) that females are more emotionally intelligent than men and hence more empathetic. This provides them an edge over males when it comes to communications skills. Our religion has also awarded mothers more rights than fathers as they are the natural teachers and care givers. What advice would you like to give to young girls and women? Pakistani women are excelling in all fields. They are winners of Oscars and Noble peace awards, climbers of highest peaks in the world, and fighter jet pilots. We as a nation should appreciate and acknowledge these outstanding females. Moreover, I urge the women all across Pakistan to speak for their rights and raise their voice, reminding everyone that we are brave. According to a famous saying the mark of an educated mind is to entertain any thought without getting angry. So let small minds talk but never give them the permission to discourage you. The interviewer is a social and political activist based in Lahore. He has done his Masters and MPhil in Communication Studies.He can be reached at salmanali088@gmail.com, tweets at Salmani_salu Published in Daily Times, August 25th 2018.