“The day I had to accept my admission offer from AKU for a Master of Science in Nursing, I was at the hospital with my pre-term baby in the NICU. I look at the email on my phone screen. I got into AKU? I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was a dream come true. But I look up and see my firstborn inside the incubator fighting for his life.
As a woman trying to grow professionally in life, these are the harsh choices life throws at you. Do I choose the well-being of my baby, or do I choose a long sought after dream of mine? But as women, God has also blessed us with the immense capacity to multitask, to persevere, and to find solutions in the darkest of corners.
Here I am today, a graduate of the Master of Science in Nursing from The Aga Khan University. Did I choose my degree over my baby? No. I chose both. It was not an easy ride, and one that I could not have managed without the support of my husband and some wonderful women around me – especially my mother-in-law, my teachers and my classmates.
Hailing from Bakhar, Punjab, and the AKU campus being in Karachi, during thesis, I spent 6 months away from my baby, the longest I ever have, it gave me sleepless nights but I survived knowing my son is at home – safe and surrounded by his loved ones.
The path I chose took a lot of courage and perseverance, but I know that with every step I take for my own professional and personal growth, I’m also evolving into a mother more knowledgeable, more educated, and more inspiring for my son. So he grows up knowing the sky is always the limit!
So, here's to the women who choose themselves at the threshold of tough choices, and to the men who have our backs!"
Farhana Shaheen is a graduate of AKU-SONAM's MScN Class of 2023.