What could be more joyous than to see some of the wishes coming true in your lifetime? Within the list of many wishes, a foremost and prioritized wish within my generation of crazy changemakers was to see the understanding of “social entrepreneurship.”
Being a witness to a time when the mere word ‘entrepreneurship’ was not only difficult to pronounce but even more challenging to understand, even for seasoned social development practitioners, and now actively participating in the entrepreneurship ecosystem during a period where every second young person is an entrepreneur, is indeed a unique and watershed experience.
I have talked and written about the changing faces of social entrepreneurship. It is no longer the constituency of the citizens’ sector but is owned and claimed by the private sector and interesting if not ironically by the public sector organizations. I watch with interest many employees in public departments flaunting any governmental initiative not only as their sole entrepreneurial idea but also as successfully cashing it and earning rewards through scholarships and other means of promotion. It is an exciting time to see past critics and those reluctant to associate themselves with social entrepreneurship becoming champions of the same.
Life is the biggest change maker, and it works wonders. When I reflect on my journey of more than three decades, I am astonished. In the mirror of the past, I see myself in my first decade, searching for purpose. There is a 24-year-old woman, a victim of multiple forms of abuse, stepping out of an abusive marriage and becoming a single mom. With a stigmatized self, she built her first entrepreneurial initiative as a health services provider while seeking bigger opportunities. Finally, she came across two advertisements and got selected as the first solo woman anchor for live morning shows on PTV and later for the Current Affairs shows. Hosting live shows in those times was a novel and daring concept, thus a significant accomplishment. At the same time, she also became the first Trainer on social marketing of contraceptives by a DC Based Organization- the same woman who was denied access to contraceptives. This Survivorship enabled me to earn a postgraduate degree in public health and transform some of my ideas on SRHR, Youth, adolescents, empowerment of disadvantaged women and girls, the Dowry System as a form of Violence, GBV, and gender equality into a nonprofit organization. That was the time when I also started scripting, producing, and directing documentary films, including the first-ever show with a youth-for-youth approach from PTV, demystifying gender in Pakistani contexts and mainstreaming its Urdu alternative, SINF. Additionally, I initiated the first-ever TV magazine show, exposing the malignant characteristics of a perceived benign system of dowry, thus garnering accolades and recognition.
I forged alliances with donor partners and executed programs and projects within communities. Apart from advocating against GBV through research-based approaches, I challenged patriarchy and elite dominance, accruing fame, fortune, and adversaries, while neglecting my well-being, including mental health. Empowerment is expensive. Empowerment, indeed, comes at a cost.
In the Third Decade, due to a set of multiple reasons, I finally decided to Step out of my comfort zone. Embracing my imperfections and making tough choices. My story for my fourth decade is being updated. I am still reinventing myself And see myself as the WORK IN PROGRESS.
With over three decades in the industry, I have traversed more than a dozen sectors and subsectors, transitioning from survivorship to thriving. From enrolling in an academy to learn computers to establishing four digital social enterprises committed to intellectual risks and enablement with a feminist intersectionality lens. Was it all glamorous and effortless? Certainly not. I have repeatedly been denied recognition, gaslighted, harassed, betrayed, bullied, and bruised, yet I remain unbroken. This is my story of resilience, and it continues to unfold.
Getting a seat at the table is a global challenge for all self-made people in general and women with overlapping vulnerabilities in particular. I am still traveling, and the best has yet to come. While traveling on this tricky road that I have termed ethical, empathetic social entrepreneurship I regularly and happily interact with fellow travelers, especially young people, and explore the possibilities of creating new ventures and meaningfully contributing to any ongoing project through collaboration.
Some of my key Learnings are; Do not be sad about what you do not have, create a business with purpose and profit with what you have, Work with communities Not for Communities and Empower yourself by becoming the person you wish you have on your side to facilitate you and the formula of social entrepreneurship which is Magnanimity raised to the power of Money and addition of a Mentor.
Dr.Rakhshinda Perveen is a serial social entrepreneur. Her four unique digital Social Entrepreneurship Initiatives are: “kafe kaam (Joy of work)” “Working together works,”, the Chamber of Women Social Entrepreneurs is “Connecting Inspirations, Apna Wallet Think Tank (a feminist Think Tank) is “Enabling psychological financial empowerment of women,” and Creative Anger by Rakhshi is ” Commitment to Intellectual Risks.” Besides several research reports and creating diverse content, she has authored five books, and the “FeminisTea” has been translated into six European languages. In her journey as a foremost Ashoka Fellow for leading social entrepreneurs and then as a mentor Social Entrepreneur for many in the industry, she has been recognized as an accomplished solopreneur, Healthpreneur, Mompreneur, and Thoughtpreneur. Her published works can be downloaded from her website : www.creativeangerbyrakhshi.com.pk
