PAKISTAN: Congratulations! It's a Daughter

A father's belief in his daughters' potential defied stereotypes and transformed their lives.

Through the unwavering dedication of my father, we serve as living examples that daughters are not curses but rather guardian angels who possess immeasurable potential.

In 2001, my father made the courageous decision to migrate from Jammu and Kashmir, India, to Islamabad, Pakistan. Realizing the need for a fresh start, my mother followed suit with my older sister and me. To begin our new life, my father took a loan from a friend and opened a fruit shop. Unfortunately, after just a few months, his hopes and dreams were shattered by a devastating flood.

Despite the setbacks, my sister and I enrolled in school. Then, in 2005, when I was in the fourth grade and my sister was in the sixth, our family received the joyous news that my mother was pregnant, much to my father’s delight. Determined to provide for the family, he established a utility store that sold essential items like groceries, household supplies, and personal care products. However, a shareholder and a worker betrayed him, leading to a devastating early morning robbery.

Amid this turmoil, my mother's blood pressure skyrocketed to dangerous levels, and the doctors told my father she required an emergency cesarean delivery but they needed his approval to move forward. My father, weighed down by the difficult decision, ultimately consented, fully aware of the risks involved as my sister and I were also born through cesarean deliveries.

An hour later, a nurse emerged from the delivery room, saying, "Congratulations, it's a daughter!" Unfortunately, my mother's blood pressure had spiked so high that she lost consciousness, slipping into a coma due to severe blood loss. Desperate, we had no choice but to pray for her recovery.

Our newborn sister was placed on a ventilator, and my father was allowed periodic visits to the labor room.

Community members rallied to support us, but they unjustly blamed my father instead of offering solace. They accused him of knowing the baby's gender in advance and mistreating my mother, and when the doctors told my mother that it was a daughter, her blood pressure went up so high out of fear that she was in critical condition. 

These community members threatened to harm him if anything happened to her; they would kill and disown him from society. Everyone, even my father's closest friends, cut off all connection. Trapped with no money and faced with mounting medical bills, my father was forced to sell all our possessions to cover the expenses.

Meanwhile, our baby sister battled double pneumonia, relying on the ventilator for several weeks. Once she was discharged, there was no one to care for her while our mother remained hospitalized. Community members accused my father of having no right or duty toward my sister because in their mind he was the one who had caused her injury.

In desperation, my father turned to his closest friend and the friend’s wife, who gladly offered to take care of our sister during this challenging time. Eventually, they named her "Naima Batool," deriving inspiration from the Arabic term that means "a blessed one."

I recall a day when my sister and I discovered our father sitting on a prayer mat, weeping and pouring his heart out to God. There was no one to prove his innocence. This was the first time we witnessed his tears. 

Miraculously, God answered his heartfelt prayers. Though the doctors were amazed, my father's unwavering faith had been rewarded. My father said that God saved my mother just to prove his innocence. As proof of his innocence, my mother began her slow path to recovery, despite losing her hair due to anaesthetic medications when she was in a coma for a few months and almost becoming bald.

After seven long months, my parents finally had the opportunity to embrace their daughter's face with sheer delight. Motivated by their transformative journey, my father dedicated himself to breaking societal norms and uplifting the status of women. He worked day and night to achieve his dream – a dream to make his daughters guardian angels for those who are suffering in the same situation as my dad, for those who think of their daughters as pieces of garbage, and for those who believe that every father sees their daughters as weight on their shoulders. 

Today, my eldest sister has achieved her dream of becoming an MBBS doctor and works as a medical officer in a hospital. I, too, have recently graduated as a dentist. As for our youngest sister, she is currently in high school, lighting up our family with her infectious zest for life.

This tale serves as an inspiring reminder to all fathers who invest their all in their daughters, defying the stereotypes that label them as burdens. Through the unwavering dedication of my father, we serve as living examples that daughters are not curses but rather guardian angels who possess immeasurable potential.

Cheers to all dads who are their daughters’ heroes!

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