About Dr. Rakhshinda
Leading Serial Social Entrepreneur, Gender & Public health Expert-Author-Activist-Feminist-Humanist-Researcher-Former TV anchor, Producer & Documentary film maker-University Teacher
Rakhshinda, a medical doctor turned single mompreneur has over 27 years of progressively responsible professional experience with business outfits, incubators &accelerators, donor, and non-profit agencies. She is Pakistan’s foremost Ashoka fellow for leading social entrepreneurship and is known for her hard work, social innovation, public policy advocacy ,creative ideas and blunt analysis. Her work has existed under many guises with the common threads of equality, empowerment and empathy.
Besides being the Founder of first ever coworking space dedicated to the struggles of women with physical disabilities and cultural disabilities ( divorced women & mothers)& Founder of first ever ( nationally & globally) Chamber of Women Social Entrepreneurs, Pakistan, she happens to be the first woman anchor for live morning shows on State owned TV(PTV) and winner of award of excellence for her pioneering TV series on gender issues.
There are many firsts to her credit:
- First solo anchorwoman for live morning shows on PTV 1995-1998
- First woman anchor for the live morning Current Affairs shows on PTV in between 1995-1998
- First private producer to win PTV award of excellence for her seminal series gender watch from PTV in 1999
- First development practitioner who introduced paternity leave in human resource policy when she co-founded a multi-dimensional NGO SACHET Pakistan 1998.
- First activist to define Dowry Violence in Pakistani context and initiating advocacy for an anti dowry legislation
- First researcher to revive and mainstream Urdu alternative of gender i.e. sinf
- First to highlight issues of single parenting in mainstream media and development sector in Pakistan
- First author & research who gave the idea of gender- based taxation and advocated the case of single women, divorced women and disabled women for tax breaks leading to their empowerment.
- First to conceptualize and materialize an international youth conference on human development in Pakistan that ultimately lead to a successful advocacy for a separate youth ministry in Pakistan.
- Founder of first ever co-working gallery in 2000 for traditional artisans to eliminate exploiting middle man that created unrest and adversary for her by power elites
- Founder of first ever coworking café dedicated to the struggles of women with physical disabilities and cultural disabilities ( divorced women & mothers)
- Founder first ever ( nationally & globally) Chamber of Women Social Entrepreneurs & Social Entrepreneurship