The APF Board is thrilled to announce the APF Rising Stars – Women Who Soar 2023 List on Wednesday April 19th 2023.
Over the last decade, the Pakistan American Diaspora was so thrilled to continue to hear about the achievements of female leaders like Malala Yousafzai,
Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, and Lina Khan – all women who tirelessly furthered their cause and excelled in their field. And while we were so excited to showcase these incredible women who help shine a light on the exciting work of Pakistanis – we knew there were women in our own communities that did not have similar platforms where they could be admired, respected, and celebrated.
So here we are today.
The APF Board embarked on a yearlong campaign to announce this first of its kind list and summon nominations from our communities. The mandate was simple – who did we know in our own communities, or people we looked up to across borders that exemplified what it means to be a Pakistani American. To not only excel in their fields, but also build bridges across the diaspora. The goal was to hear stories from a variety of fields – academia, media, tech, medicine. We didn’t want to leave any stone unturned. To be honest, we weren’t sure what kind of response we would get because it was a grassroots campaign.
The results were incredible – we got more nominations than we had expected and were so touched by all the stories you shared about the female leaders in your lives. After much deliberation, the Selection Committee picked 15 winners for our inaugural list who will be announced on Wednesday April 19th 2023 across our social platforms.
Throughout the year we will also profile and interview each of these incredible women so our communities can learn more about their exciting work.
Thank you to all of you for helping shine a light – and we hope we can continue to do this for many years to come.
Warmly,
Anna Khan, Uzma Iqbal & The APF Board