The three girls thanked Huawei Pakistan for providing them with international platform as well as the necessary training to improve their ICT skills in order to compete in mega event.
It is widely assumed that women cannot excel in their professions unless they are dressed appropriately for modern life, but three hijab-wearing Pakistani girls not only made it to the Huawei Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Competition 2022 but also demonstrated their abilities at an international level.
Following a series of multiple-choice questions and situational judgement tests, three female students from low-ranked universities in Pakistan were chosen for the Regional Finals, which will be held in Muscat, Oman, from December 21 to 22, 2022.
The girls, along with three male counterparts, were chosen from a pool of 12,000 students from 135 universities who took the national exam.
Fatima Shafique of Mehran University of Engineering and Technology (MUET), Jamshoro, Eman Yaqoob of Lahore College for Women University (LCWC), and Maryam Fareed of Lahore College for Women University (LCWC), all hijab wearing girls, have excelled in the ICT sector, as evidenced by their selection for the Huawei competition.
The three girls thanked Huawei Pakistan for providing them with an international platform as well as the necessary training to improve their ICT skills in order to compete in the mega event.
They claimed it was only the start of their professional careers. Huawei Pakistan had offered them an internship programme that would help them polish their ICT skills and make significant progress in real life, they added.
They claimed that they were making significant advancements in the technology industry and that wearing a hijab was no longer a hindrance in that regard, dispelling the notion that wearing a hijab could be a barrier to their professional life.
Shunli Wang, Vice President of Huawei Middle East and Central Asia, stated that his company is working on “women empowerment” by providing equal opportunities to female students throughout the region.
He stated that there were 15 teams comprised of 45 students from 11 countries, with 19 girls receiving “Women in Tech” awards to recognise their ICT skills.
He claimed that the novel initiative would help bring women into the mainstream of society, both professionally and economically.
“Huawei is committed to supporting and nurturing young ICT talent in the region,” Shunli Wang added. Huawei’s goal with this mega event is to “empower the youth to advance their ICT skills, thus contributing to the talent ecosystem and supporting accelerating digital economies.”
“We believe in the power of open collaboration with our partners in the public and private sectors, as well as academia, to nurture the skills of young ICT talents and encourage them to participate in achieving the national goals and visions of their respective countries,” he said.
He went on to say that the competition was one of several corporate social responsibility initiatives carried out by Huawei in the region to train today’s youth in the ICT sector. Since its inception in 2017, over 80,000 students from across the region have taken part in the competition, which has seen a significant increase in students with each passing year, he said.