Miss Earth Pakistan 2020 Interview:
DESCRIBE YOUR CHILDHOOD/GROWING YEARS
Growing up I was very naughty and always inquisitive about life! I was also very creative as I remember that I learned painting by myself, as well as made friendship bands by myself without anyone’s help. Always intrigued with nature, I once caught a lizard and took it to my school and asked my science teacher about it. Overall, I loved having fun as I am an extrovert by nature, and during school loved science, as it was my favorite subject.
WHAT IS YOUR MEMORABLE MOMENT?
My best moments in life, is when I helped a child who needed help in school and I taught her and helped her in school work, as she was my maid’s child and ever since then we became good friends. I am happy to see her graduated and out of school and she has since then joined Pakistan’s army and is working for my country. Thus, for me when I see that my tiny contribution resulted in this outcome, I feel happy and proud.
ANY SPECIAL STORIES OR FACTS ABOUT YOUR FAMILY?
My family is a very business-oriented family. We have a family restaurant as well as my brothers are also heading their own businesses. We are a strong family unit, and I am the third child in the family. We never give up and we always support each other, and we stand together through thick and thin in life. The best part about my brothers and sister is that they have always motivated me.
WHAT IS THE MOST UNUSUAL THING YOU HAVE EVER DONE?
Once when I was young, and I got hungry, so I took soaps and toothpaste and tried tasting it, and even made my younger brother taste it. But since it tasted so bad, I vowed to never do anything like that in my life.
WHAT IS YOUR ADVOCACY?
My advocacy is to plant trees as I believe that the more trees we plant, the cleaner air we get and a greener earth we get. As trees grow, they help stop climate change by removing carbon dioxide from the air, storing carbon in the trees and soil, and releasing oxygen into the atmosphere. This would help in reducing the carbon levels in the air. This is what we need at this moment.
WHAT TIPS CAN YOU SHARE TO PROMOTE ECOTOURISM & CLIMATE CHANGE?
It is very important for us to create awareness and these are some of the tips that I would promote:
1- Awareness of climate change at all grassroot levels, including airports, schools, work places, government offices.
2- Reward for recycling so that people start working on these things.
3- Encourage hotels, and resorts to purchase recycling materials for their use.
4- Have Eco Days allocated in schools and make it compulsory for all schools to work on projects.
5- All schools must create their own recycling system and students must be appointed per class to help with the recycling.
WHAT MAKES YOU PROUD OF YOUR COUNTRY?
Pakistan is a very unique country that nobody knows much about. We are mix of Greek, Russians, Tajiks, Afghans, Persians, Arabs, Chinese, Portuguese, Mongolians as well as African people. Our mix is so unique that people are yet to discover that. When people look at Pakistanis in general, they get confused as they are not able to pinpoint where exactly they may belong to. So, I am proud of our ethnicity and the beautiful mixes Pakistan is made up of.
Secondly, Pakistan has beautiful locations, unlike in this world. It is virgin land where tourism has not yet reached its peak! We have the oldest hand planted forest on 40 acres called, “Changa Manga” which broke previous Guinness World Records, and we have the second highest mountain in the world, K2 after Mount Everest. There are many more things on my list but these are the two that I want the world to know of.
WHAT CAN YOU PROMOTE ABOUT YOUR COUNTRY?
Pakistan is known as the land of the pure and it is the land where the oldest civilization took place, the Indus Valley Civilization! Even though the concept of Pakistan took place in the 19th century, however, the real concept of Pakistan began when the Arab conqueror took over Sindh, Pakistan. After the 6th century, the areas that fell under Pakistan, including Kashmir witnessed the spread of Islam.
We Pakistanis, love our food. That is one thing Pakistanis are crazy for. We are foodies. Our food is very different in taste and is nothing like the neighboring countries surrounding Pakistan. In the north there are less spices and in the south of Pakistan the spices get stronger.
We share the Silk Road with China, and we have magical places like Saiful-Malook, where it is believed that one can catch a glimpse of fairies in the valley, as it is believed that a Persian Prince fell in love with the Queen of Fairies right in Saiful-Malook. It is a magical place, which is yet to be discovered by tourists!
The men of Pakistan have held the third place in the world’s most handsome men. The women did not get that opportunity as the women of Pakistan usually are conservative or else Pakistani women would have taken one of the top 5 positions for beauty due to their unique ethnic mixes.
We believe that Pakistani is a race not just an identity for us. We are a race with such unique mixes that it’s nowhere to be found in this world. Mixing with over 10 ethnicities is an incredible mix! That is what being Pakistani means!
WHAT TRIVIA ABOUT YOURSELF WOULD YOU LIKE TO SHARE?
1. I have two beautiful lion cubs at home
2. I love animals and am an ambassador at the JFK Animal Shelter in Lahore, Pakistan
3. I have a sweet tooth