Choosing Marriage with Career - Zainab Ali & Kashif Mehmood

I had been offered a job at a multinational company at a very high position due to my years of experience and connections within the industry. Being a woman, it was not an easy task as I had to leave my home duties to fulfill the official ones. This process resulted in longer hours at the office and a lot of foreign business meetings. For my family, this was not new as they completely trusted me and knew I could take care of myself. But for the families that my parents talked to, it was the first red alert they saw. Our culture is rich and I do admit it should be, but these families would put the condition of not working after marriage, a requirement that I cannot fulfill. My father had spent a fortune on getting me a quality education and I could not just let it all go to waste by being a regular housewife. If my job was lower-level management, I would have opted to become a housewife on my own but I was an executive member, with a lot of credibility in the industry and fame in the media. Leaving would mean leaving behind years of work in the industry in vain. So, I decided to stay unmarried till there was someone who would accept me for what I am instead of enforcing their ideology on my successful career. Pakistani Rishtey was a suggestion from my friend who had heard about it in her family. I had not given much thought at first but eventually, my curiosity made me list a profile. Within the first day, I was being bombarded with messages from all kinds of people. I thought I needed a manager to filter these for me as, during my business meetings, I kept getting notifications. So, I chose the package and a matchmaker for myself who would handle my profile for me. While my matchmaker looked for the perfect Rishta in Pakistan for me, I continued with my career progression. One morning, my matchmaker called me to discuss a serious family who had shown interest. Although the matchmaker was telling me they had no problem with me working after marriage, my fears did not fade away easily. But I kept this to myself and tried a meeting with this family. When they came, everything went well even when my mother told them about my job. They were happy for my success and my potential Rishta was okay with me working after marriage. He himself was a successful businessman and understood my situation. And from that day of tying the knots for Shadi till now, we both have been the best support system for each other. We have traveled, started businesses together, and are blessed with two beautiful daughters. My patience and hope in finding an understandable family finally paid off and thanks to Pakistani Rishtey, I found the ideal man whom I needed to live my marriage life without compromising my career. Thank you Pakistani Rishtey!