Pakistan to UNB: Doctorate Student Creates Short Film To Empower Women
FREDERICTON— From Pakistan to Fredericton, Wajiha Shahid wants to empower women with her short film, I am a woman.
Shahid came to Canada with her husband and three-year-old son last August. Their move was motivated by Shahid starting her Ph.D. in computer science at the University of New Brunswick, specifically within the Canadian Institute for Cybersecurity.
After doing her bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and master’s in computer science in Pakistan, the best option for her family was to move to Canada, as they also wanted to become permanent residents.
“Me and my husband figured out pretty … soon that we are not going to find [many] opportunities here in the field of computer science, especially because we are still in a developing state,” said Shahid.
Two months into starting at UNB, graduate students received an email invitation to apply for the storytelling project, Under the Tent, through the Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU).
The competition involved choosing 21 students from all over Canada from the pool of applicants. Those chosen would receive mentorship to make their storytelling project come to life.
The project was looking for unique stories from graduate students, such as expressing their sense of belonging or isolation in Canada as an international student.
“When I first came to Canada, it felt like heaven,” said Shahid. “Because when I actually look behind me, I feel more darkness for women like [me] who have … bigger dreams [and] bigger ambitions.”
Especially for mothers like Shahid, whom society expects to stay at home with their children.
Her husband suggested she make the short film about her struggles and the journey she took to Canada. So, she got together with some other UNB women from India and Pakistan who face the same struggles and submitted their idea that would inspire women to pursue their ambitions.
Shahid was the only student from Atlantic Canada chosen.
She received four months of extensive film training in connection with TMU and did not have to pay for the making of it or the training. The film was presented on July 2 in Toronto.
“So far, we have gained massive appreciation from the women crowd, especially in the tech [industry], because I would say computer science is kind of more taboo, no women want to go into it … so we were kind of removing that taboo from the computer science [industry].”
When Shahid was in Pakistan, she was looking for women who would encourage and empower her to focus on her dreams and ambitions. The friends who gave her this encouragement were already in Canada doing their Ph.D.’s.
“I wanted myself to be somebody who could empower the women back [in Pakistan] who think that they can never be good enough and they can never come into job after marriage, after a career gap, after children.”
Shahid’s son was two-years-old when she started applying for her Ph.D. and said people were discouraging her by telling her she would not be able to do it.
In the society she comes from, she said the topic of women having their own career is considered taboo. She felt that women’s responsibilities had to revolve around her kids, her marriage and her house chores. She left Pakistan because she “felt suffocated.”
Shahid’s Ph.D. program duration can last between five to seven years. Her family has plans to continue living in Fredericton as her three-year-old son will start school soon enough.
“I have to think about my career because that’s what my son is going to look forward to. I want … a generation where the child looks at the mother and he sees, ‘okay, yeah my mother has a career too. She’s allowed to work too.’”
Jessica Saulnier in an intern for Huddle in Fredericton. Send her feedback or story tips: [email protected]