Women make inroads in Pakistan as they become firefighters and barriers slowly fall

KARACHI, Pakistan -- Thick achromatic fume clawed astatine the entity past week implicit the concern portion successful Pakistan's largest metropolis arsenic firefighter Syeda Masooma Zaidi raced toward the raging blaze successful Karachi.

The retention installation was packed with motortruck and car tires, and the flames leapt hungrily, achromatic plumes twisting skyward. Heat shimmered disconnected the asphalt, turning the aerial dense and acrid, stinging her eyes and lungs.

Zaidi did not hesitate amid the deafening roar, hose successful hand, her helmet strapped tight.

The 23-year-old and the remainder of her firefighting squad — each men — aimed the jets of h2o astatine the molten rubber, which hissed and steamed nether the torrent. The squad worked methodically, each question precise, each 2nd critical.

Hours later, the blaze was nether control. Nearby factories were spared, nary lives were mislaid — though the harm ran into tens of thousands of dollars (millions of Pakistani rupees).

When the firefighters emerged from the smoke, their faces streaked with soot, dozens of onlookers cheered down information lines.

Zaidi is simply a uncommon show successful a state wherever women firefighters were mostly unheard-of until 2024. Her vocation — similar those of different women successful Pakistan’s exigency services — underscores the gradual inroads being made successful the staunchly patriarchal and accepted Islamic nation.

Some were inspired erstwhile Shazia Perveen became Pakistan's precise archetypal pistillate firefighter successful 2010 successful eastbound Punjab province, wherever she is present a trainer. In Sindh province, wherever Karachi is the capital, women started joining firefighting services successful 2024 aft getting their grooming successful Punjab.

And though they inactive marque up little than 1% of Pakistan's firefighters, authorities accidental much women are apt to articulation firefighting units successful the coming years successful the state of 255 million.

Most Pakistani women who spell into nonrecreational fields choose careers arsenic doctors, engineers oregon teachers, Zaidi said. She wanted to amusement that “we tin bash this too.”

Her main occurrence officer, Humayun Khan, has praised Zaidi and her pistillate colleagues.

Dr. Abid Jalaluddin Shaikh, main of the Sindh Emergency Service, said Zaidi is 1 of 50 women firefighters successful the province. Another 180 are successful grooming arsenic rescue divers, ambulance medics and exigency responders.

“The absorption is nary longer connected breaking taboos," helium said. “Now we spot existent results.”

Zaidi graduated from the Punjab Rescue Service Academy, wherever she mastered high-angle rescues that usage ladders, ropes and trolleys and typically impact victims trapped successful skyscrapers, concern towers oregon different precocious elevations, arsenic good arsenic assorted types of occurrence and h2o emergencies.

Still, she says she feels galore uncertainty her quality connected the job.

“When we arrive, radical say, ‘She’s a miss — however tin she rescue anyone?’” she said. “Every clip we prevention a life, we beryllium that women tin besides bash this job.”

Zaidi's chap firefighter Areeba Taj, besides 23, recalled missions successful Karachi wherever she and her pistillate colleagues helped prevention lives amid chaos and smoke. Their supervisor, Ayesha Farooq, highlighted the unsocial strengths women bring, particularly erstwhile victims see women and children.

“By joining rescue services, they gain respect — for themselves, and for the country,” Farooq said.

Zaidi, who grew up with 7 brothers and 1 sister, says her information was simple: courage, duty, and faith.

“People inactive uncertainty us,” she said. “But each clip we spell retired there, we support proving them wrong.”

As the skyline supra the Karachi concern portion cleared past week, Zaidi returned with her squad to the occurrence station, acceptable for the adjacent alarm.

Every time connected the job, Zaidi, Taj and their different pistillate colleagues beryllium that gender is nary obstruction to bravery.

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Ahmed reported from Islamabad. Associated Press writers Abdul Sattar successful Quetta, Babar Dogar successful Lahore and Riaz Khan successful Peshawar, Pakistan, contributed to this report.