I started my career by going against my family, but now they all are proud of me, and I am a role model for the females who think their life is finished after marriage.
In Pakistan, women have limited options for choosing their careers; the most common female professions are teaching, medicine, and banking. If someone is lucky enough to adopt another work than these, they face so many limitations on their way that eventually force them to quit their jobs and abandon their passion. Some women get stuck between their professional and personal life. In our patriarchal society, women are forced to prioritize their personal and professional lives. Maha Wajhat is a role model for these women. Maha is Pakistan’s first female photographer, with more than 2 million followers on Instagram.
she manages her professional and personal life simultaneously while keeping working standards high. Maha did BCA from Fatima Jinnah Women’s University.
She started her career before her marriage. After her marriage, her husband has proven to be a strong pillar who provided her with the ground where she can build her dreams. He helped her to an extent until she no longer depended on anyone financially.
While talking to Rapid Pakistan, Maha explained that being a woman, it took her a long time to convenience her family, and her parents were not allowing her to do photography at people’s weddings. Maha belongs to Islamabad; her husband is also a videographer. Maha told us that her husband played a significant role in her success.
Maha covered many big fat weddings all around the world. She also covered much celebrity’s weddings, such as Aimen Khan Muneeb Butt, Hamza Ali Abbasi Nawal Kawar, and Minal khan Ahsan Mohsin. There are many other big names in the industry whose main event was covered by Maha. Maha is also a brand ambassador for Nikon in Pakistan.
She is also a famous influencer as well. Her journey to success did not stop there. She entered the fashion industry and proved her worth there as well. she got the attention of many females because of her dressing sense. Maha said, “my followers used to ask me about every dress detail which I shared on my profile, which eventually motivated me to start my brand because, in BCA, I have also studied textile design. But I never thought my brand would pave the way for success this fast.” Now many celebrities wear her signature dresses.
while talking to Rapid Pakistan, she said that her work is expensive because of quality, ‘as we don’t compromise on work.’ She explained that her BCA thesis was on photography, and she gained in-depth information about her work.
In Pakistan, many capable women lose their battle while struggling to be part of the corporate world. Finding a distinct identity on their own is most challenging in our patriarchal society.
Maha said she also faced many hardships and explained that the key to her success is “I never give up, no matter what comes my way, I always keep giving my self-confidence that I can do this, there is nothing in this world which women can’t do, you should be able to balance your personal and professional life.”
Despite the progressive change in society, women are still killing their dreams. But if you find a husband who understands your dreams and wants you to be more than a homemaker, your married life becomes a blessing. Maha is lucky enough to find such a man in her life. Maha said that in our society, Women are waiting for some magic wand to find them and make all their wishes come true “this is wrong whatever we want in our life, we should work hard for that and don’t wait that someone will come to rescue us.”
According to Maha, if a woman can fight death while giving birth to a child, she can do anything in this world. Maha is confident that her success story will pave the way for other girls who want to opt for photography as a profession. “Get up, be brave and show the world what you can do.”
