Forbes recognises three Pakistani women in '30 Under 30' list

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Forbes released its’30 Under 30′ list for 2014 on Monday, in which the business magazine recognises 450 young game-changers across 15 different fields. This year’s Social Entrepreneurship category features three Pakistani women who they believe are changing the world.

The most well-known face among the three is Malala Yousufzai, whose campaign for girls’ education has already won her many accolades. She is credited with co-founding the Malala Fund and also on the list is her co-founder Shiza Shahid.

According to Forbes, Malala Yousafzai, the young Pakistani activist daring to advocate for girls’ education, was shot by the Taliban in 2012, Shiza Shahid–who had met Malala in 2009 at an Islamabad retreat focused on female education–got on a plane. She helped oversee Malala’s medical care in London and shelter the family from the media circus. And she was there when Malala awoke.

“While I was there by her side, she woke up and said ‘I want to continue my campaign.’ It was clear that she could now help the world in a way that she hadn’t been able to before,” Shahid recalls. She became the 16-year-old’s chief strategist on-the-spot. “How do we think about leveraging her voice in a way that’s effective, that brings focus to the issues that matter, and creates a platform that drives all this energy around Malala into meaningful action?”

Together, Shahid and Malala in 2012 founded Malala Fund, with the goal of educating every girl. To date the organization has received two major grants totaling $400,000, half from the World Bank and half from Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. A documentary on Malala’s work by Academy Award winner Davis Guggenheim is expected for release in 2014.

The third young Pakistani woman on the list is 25-year-old Khalida Brohi. Brohi was only 16 years old when she witnessed the honour killing of her friend, reported Forbes.

This experience led her to found Sughar, a non-profit organisation, which empowers women by providing them with six-month courses on business and crafts. Sughar aids village women in starting their small businesses so that they become more financially independent.