Women at work

摘要

Pakistan's traditional ways have blocked many women's careers in science. But, as Ehsan Masood discovers, women are now fighting for their rights, both in life and in research. When I was doing my PhD, my husband and children would come to the department if I wanted to stay after 9 p.m." recalls Zahida Maqsood, a professor of chemistry at the University of Karachi. This wasn't just to keep her company; nor to hassle her to come home and cook. In most Pakistani families, women are simply not allowed to work late alone, or to socialize after work with male colleagues. Even today, some 25 years since Maqsood's graduation, things are much the same. "If my students want to stay late, their families come and wait for them outside on the lawn," says Shakeel Farooqi, assistant professor of genetics at Karachi.