In our part of the world, a woman’s beauty becomes her metric of success. Born with a birth defect on my nose, I never fit the conventional standards of beauty. I was frowned upon by the people around and never could have a normal social life that other girls of my age had. I had a personality of my own but that began to fade as I became more and more less confident in myself. I limited myself to my home and my school, and soon, I lost the courage to continue going to the latter as well. My life had been restricted within the four walls of my house because I was too ashamed of letting people see who I was.
Today, however, is a different story. It seems now that the meek girl who I used to be was a different person altogether. I had decided to take control of my life and not be affected by my appearance. The first step in this direction was to complete my studies. While I did so, I also got multiple operations and joined Kaarvan Crafts Foundation. Both my family and Kaarvan have been an immense source of support in helping me overcome my insecurities. In all my moments of doubt and under confidence, they motivated me and pushed me to challenge the little girl to step out of her home and take joy in being myself.
I see many women struggling with this issue. Often, women feel they are not good enough if they don’t look good as well. When I realized this, I decided to set an example for all the women around me. What defined them was not their physical characteristics but their capabilities, their personalities, and their stories of courage. I hope to continue breaking all those barriers. With a grateful heart – there is no stopping me!
