This fortnight we speak to Maham Amjad, the founder of PR and events enterprise, Cediure and fashion reporting company, Fashion Police Pakistan. At just twenty-six years of age, she has a number of achievements under her belt that include hosting red carpets for corporate events and on behalf of sponsors at fashion weeks. She has also been Master of Ceremony for brands such as Samsung Pakistan and Philip Morris. She also represented Pakistan in this capacity at the Business Excellence Awards 2019 for FCCI in Baku, Azerbaijan, as well as the PSL tournament in 2019.
As of now, Maham resides in the United Arab Emirates and works for Aqua Properties in Dubai, a leading real estate venture. Within six months of joining the company, she launched ‘A Real State of Mind’ with the CEO Ali Tumbi. This latest project of hers is a TV show shedding light over the property and investment market of Dubai, where she gains insight from various CEOs.
Who is Maham Amjad?
A dreamer, a go-getter and a very proud daughter. I’m a very simple person at heart who cherishes the small joys of life. For me success isn’t defined by how much one has achieved in life, it’s the ability to sleep soundly at night, knowing that you haven’t wronged anyone. So I would like to think that Maham Amjad is constantly endeavouring to be a good person and that’s her biggest accomplishment in life.
Women are often at a disadvantage in the professional sphere of our country. Yet, you’ve continued to tackle each challenge with integrity. Do you think your upbringing has a role to play in that?
I won’t say it was my upbringing necessarily; dealing with tough situations successfully is something I learnt with experience. However, the way I was raised did allow me to stand out. My parents have invested a lot of time in teaching me to remain steadfast in what I believe in.
As a female, standing out is not something that’s always perceived well-you get a lot of criticism for it. But that’s where the resilience I learnt from home kicks in.
We got a chance to ask Dr. OBT about his experience of working with Maham, while she was the Marketing Manager for his clinic, Halcyon, for two years.
“Maham is a wonderful personality, who has been pivotal in helping create a solid brand that depicts quality in healthcare. Her ambition and persistence to be the best at what she does reflect in the way she fulfills all her responsibilities. She’s a team player and gets the job done with a positive mindset and attitude.â€
Tell us about the inherent prejudices you’ve faced as a working woman?
It’s been a really tough journey. To begin with, just getting the permission to work was quite a task, as that wasn’t the culture where I come from. Once I stepped out and defied the norms of my home, I felt a tremendous amount of pressure to prove myself to my family. Due to this, I often saw people trying to bring me down whenever they could. I always had to be extra careful.
In your opinion, how challenging is it for married women to maintain a healthy work-life balance?
Honestly, maintaining a work-life balance is only challenging if you think it is. I’m taking care of my house, while working to achieve my professional goals. I enjoy cooking and fulfilling all my domestic responsibilities. Yes, when you’re married, you have another person to take care of, but you also have a person to take care of you.
If you ever win an award, who would you like to thank in your speech?
I’d thank all the people who wronged me and I don’t mean this in a negative way. Every time I was hurt, I got the courage to prove myself to the world. The deeper the scar was, the bigger my achievement was. Apart from that I can only thank God for blessing me with everything that He has.
Who’s your role model?
My father, Muhammad Ahmad Amjad. He was a self-made man but despite being quite successful professionally, the traits he’s most fondly remembered for are his warmth and kindness. That’s the kind of legacy I aspire to leave behind as well. I recall being overwhelmed because of the droves of people who showed up to his funeral, simply because he was a decent human being towards them. He used to say, “Live a life that can be celebrated and die a death of a person who is truly loved.”
Where do you see yourself in the next five years?
I’ve been working for almost eight years now and have achieved most of my goals. Whatever I wanted in life I worked my way towards it. In the next five years, I want to invest in starting a family and raising kids. No matter how successful you become, at the end of the day you want to come home and share your success with those you love most. Having said that, in the future I’d want to be in a position where I can help and support others in need.
