Parveen was in her last year of school when she married and had her first daughter. She kept pursuing her education — and then she made sure to support other girls to do the same.
Parveen, 24, was in her final year of secondary school when she got married and had her first daughter. In her remote village near the Hunza Valley in northern Pakistan, where harsh terrain, the cost of books and uniforms, and early marriage keep many girls from finishing school, that could easily have ended her education. But Parveen did not give up.
She credits the confidence she has today to joining a “Saheli Circle” — a community-based initiative for girls run by Innovate, Educate & Inspire (IEI), a Malala Fund grantee working across the mountain communities of Gilgit-Baltistan. In that safe space, Parveen learned to speak up for herself, gained life and digital skills and connected with mentors who helped her carve a path forward. Now a mother of three daughters, she is taking university courses through a distance learning programme and hopes to pursue her PhD.
“I take pride in the fact that I never accept defeat. I keep struggling and moving forward,” says Parveen.
With her confidence, skills and education, Parveen made sure that her story mattered beyond her own life. She started leading a Saheli Circle of her own. She has mobilised women in her area, engaging families in conversations about the value of keeping girls in school. She meets with in-laws, husbands and community elders — the people who hold the most influence over whether a girl stays in the classroom. Two girls in her community returned to school as a direct result of those conversations.
Parveen also helped bring together 12 women who contribute what they can each month — 20, 50, 100 rupees — to a fund that helps cover the hidden costs of education: uniforms, shoes, notebooks, pencils. They are the costs that quietly push girls out of school when families can't keep up.
"I wish that my daughters do not experience what I went through," Parveen says. "I want to make sure that my daughters' dreams don't stay as mere dreams."
IEI was founded by Marvi Soomro, who has lived and worked in these mountain communities for a decade. For Marvi, the Saheli Circles model is built to outlast any single programme. "IEI is all about community, trust and connection," she says. "Education is about belonging and liberation — grounded in our roots and shaping where we're going with care and courage."
At Malala Fund, Parveen’s story is one we’ve seen time and time again, across borders and cultures. One educated, confident young woman can shift an entire community. Parveen didn't just change her own trajectory — she changed her daughters' expectations, brought two girls back to school and built a support system that didn't exist before. Now imagine what investing in the education of millions of girls could do for our shared futures. This is the world she builds.
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