Nine times out of ten, if you’re a young woman in Pakistan unsure which profession to choose, you’ll be advised by everyone around you to become a teacher. In fact, this is a job that quite a few women take up in Pakistan; the flexible hours, long vacations, and what’s perceived as a woman’s natural ability to work with children are attractions for women all over the world to join the ranks of teachers.
As a young graduate with a Masters in Education, I too was told when I returned to Pakistan that I should become a teacher. However, I didn’t think I was the type of person that should be inflicted upon the nation’s children. Patience was never my strong suit, and I didn’t want to shame my family with the possibility of a newspaper headline reading “Teacher Loses Temper and Strangles Students”, so I thanked everyone who offered me this sage advice and told them that I wasn’t sure whether I really wanted to be a teacher.
“But you’ve got a degree in education, the country needs you, this is your way of giving back to society!”
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