The Quiet Warrior Podcast with Serena Low

70. Embracing Cultural Roots and Advocating for Change with Jawaria Mahmood

• Serena Low, Introvert Coach for Quiet Achievers and Quiet Warriors

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In this quietly inspiring dialogue of The Quiet Warrior podcast, Serena Low chats with Jawaria Mahmood, a dynamic advocate from Perth, Western Australia. Jawaria shares her inspiring journey from being an engineer in Pakistan to becoming a trailblazer for bilingual storytime sessions in Australian libraries, a champion for STEM education for young girls, and a dedicated advocate for cyber safety in diverse communities. Her story is one of resilience, cultural pride, and unwavering commitment to making a difference.

What You’ll Hear in This Episode:

  • Jawaria’s experience as a migrant woman starting over in Australia
  • The spark behind her bilingual storytime initiative and how it grew into a national project
  • Her work in promoting STEM careers for young girls, especially from migrant backgrounds
  • The challenges and importance of cyber safety education for children and vulnerable communities
  • Jawaria’s advice for advocates: Start where you are, stay persistent, and keep your purpose in mind

Memorable Quotes:

“A quiet warrior is someone who doesn’t give up when things aren’t working, but looks inward, adapts, and tries again.” – Jawaria Mahmood

Resources and Links Mentioned:

Timestamps:

00:00 – Welcome and introduction
02:15 – Jawaria’s journey from Pakistan to Australia
08:30 – The birth of bilingual storytime sessions
15:50 – Advocating for STEM careers for young girls
22:45 – Cyber safety challenges and education
30:10 – Advice for new migrants and building support networks
38:20 – What makes a good advocate and a quiet warrior

If you enjoyed this episode, please rate, review, and share The Quiet Warrior podcast so more introverts and quiet achievers can find their path to success. Thank you for being here with us – see you in the next episode!

This episode was edited by Aura House Productions

Speaker 1:

Hi, I'm Serena Loh. If you're used to hearing that introverts are shy, anxious, antisocial and lack good communication and leadership skills, then this podcast is for you. You're about to fall in love with the calm, introspective and profound person that you are. Discover what's fun, unique and powerful about being an introvert, and how to make the elegant transition from quiet achiever to quiet warrior in your life and work anytime you want, in more ways than you imagined possible. Welcome, Welcome to another episode of the Quiet Warrior podcast. Today I'm speaking with Jawaria Mahmood from Perth in Western Australia, and I'm particularly fascinated, Jawaria, by your story and by what you're currently doing in the community. So welcome to the Quiet Warrior podcast.

Speaker 2:

Hi Serena, thank you so much for having me. It's. It just came by surprise looking at the name and I was like what will will I add to your podcast? So I'm really looking forward to contributing.

Speaker 1:

Jawaria, I first came across your story in the Professional Migrant Women Network book, which was launched maybe two years ago now. I think it's called Undefeated and it has over a hundred stories of how professional migrant women have adjusted to life in Australia, the obstacles we've overcome, and I know you contributed two stories there. So could you share with us some of your background and your story and your journey of coming to Australia?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, that's right, I think you were there too. We are co-authors for Undefeated. So hello, fellow. So my background I was born in Pakistan. There I studied engineering because, as you know, the Asian parents only give you an option of becoming a doctor or an engineer. So after finishing my studies, I worked in government and corporate sectors in executive roles. So yeah, Very cool.

Speaker 1:

And what was it like for you being a migrant woman in Australia? The whole thing about starting over, about being disconnected from culture. How did you retain your heritage and how did you keep your identity strong?

Speaker 2:

yeah, great question. Well, the journey for me was full of struggles. Career-wise. I was told that I have to start from scratch. It was harder because I had a well-established life from the worldly perspective, and by worldly perspective I mean on the outside. I had a house and a car and a stable job, but I felt like there are not many opportunities for growth. So I just took on the challenge to move this far away, and for that I have to leave the support behind of my trusted friends and colleagues.

Speaker 2:

And on top of that there was financial hardship, which comes as, coming from a third world country, I would say because of the currency rates. No matter how much big pile of money you come with, it just immediately gets slashed down to a fraction. And it was also complex for me because I came as a family, so I couldn't save money and compromise by living in a dodgy accommodation. Speaking English was not a problem for me, so I got a bit lucky there. But then there was a very different culture and way of life that I had to adjust to and I kind of felt the disconnect, not exactly for me but for my daughter where, thinking that she won't be able to have the same cultural experiences that I I had, and I won't be able to pass on any of the traditions that I grew up with. So this is, this is what this was my thought process at that point in time.

Speaker 1:

I think what you, what you just said there, is very important, because when we are in our home country, sometimes we may take those aspects for granted. Because when we are in our home country, sometimes we may take those aspects for granted because we are immersed in them all day long. They are there, we don't have to worry about them, we know who we are and we are with our people. But as soon as you step across into a new country where the culture is very different and you are trying to process all these differences at the same time, trying to feel secure in who you are and trying to remember who you are, and then also having children, and then being a parent and looking at it from that angle, it becomes much more urgent and vital to do something. So what was the something that you decided to do?

Speaker 2:

um, well, I had a career break to raise my children, primarily because there was no family support here and I was apparently starting from scratch. So I'd rather spend a little bit time with my kids and start from scratch a few years later, kind of situation. So I had kind of all the time on earth to facilitate their learning and growth and we were used to go to like multiple activities during the week Sense replay, swimming, gymnastics, rhyme time. We did lots of arts and crafts and one of them was the story time in the library. I was used to attend that weekly story time, uh, which sometimes had themes as well. They were used to read books about moms around mother's day and a dream time story around NAIDOC week and so on and so forth, and one of the themes is around Harmony Week, where we celebrate the diversity of cultures that we have in Australia.

Speaker 2:

So the session was pretty much the same, which started on the day with a few formal statements that this is Harmony Week and how it is a safe place to embrace different cultures and we have the freedom to practice our religion, and then they took out a book in English, as every other week, and started reading it, as they did always, which didn't sit right with me. So after the session I walked up to the person and said there are so many other languages and cultures in the world If you have ever considered reading a book in a different language for this week and that person didn't know much about how it was even possible. But she just told me about the next person who I can talk to. So I kind of navigated my way on. You know how we can make it happen.

Speaker 2:

So then I was able to talk to you know the person who was able to make the decisions on it, and we did all the relevant paperwork which and then we kind of mapped out the whole, how the whole session will be run, which was, um, very similar to how the regular sessions were run, and I also provided them sentence by sentence translation to make it inclusive for the people who don't understand urdu, because it was a walk-in kind of session in a public library. Urdu because it was a walk-in kind of session in a public library. And I also kind of tied in the whole story with a craft activity to tie in some of the STEM principles. And then we went from there. Now I have delivered the story time sessions in multiple libraries around multiple city councils.

Speaker 1:

So yeah, that crazy idea in the beginning proved very successful that is an incredible, crazy idea that just started out from you wanting your daughter to experience her own culture and from there many more children get to listen to other languages besides English, which then opens their minds and opens their hearts to being able to connect better when they have a classmate from a different culture at school. It gives them something to talk about, it gives them a way to be curious. Maybe they might recognize or remember a word or two here and there, and that gets them excited about learning. And I know what it's like, and I'm sure you do too, when you hear someone else from a different culture making an attempt to speak your language or greet you or say hello or something. It just makes you feel so seen and so special, doesn't it? Yes, that's right. Right. So this initiative, how far has it spread now? Has it gone beyond Perth?

Speaker 2:

um, like I mentioned the story time, I did it in Purdue, like getting feedback from the people who attended, which was always wonderful. So I kind of started advocating based on more, not just the research but also like the ground reality. Yes, we know it helps families feel connected and the kids become more resilient. But then to show that there is an appetite from the community for this kind of sessions and then they want more of them. This is from where I grew my sessions to the point where I'm now part of the project, where I'm like collating my knowledge and experience, uh, delivering these sessions which will help facilitate similar sessions in any language. And then we got we got even funding to execute that as part of the family literacy grants program from better beginnings. So it's, it's going to be long. Now the information will be accessible like nationwide and not just limited to Utu language. If there is any parent who is as passionate as me but speaking a different language, they will have somewhere to start. I'm kind of leaving a legacy behind.

Speaker 1:

You are. Indeed, you are quite the trailblazer and pioneer, and very proactive, I think, in taking an idea that you believe strongly in and then executing on it with the help of other people. So there's a lot of different skills and traits that I see there that I really want to acknowledge you for, and to circle back and switch gears a little bit, you talked about STEM and you started off as an engineer. How are you bringing your STEM expertise into the community now, because I know that you do a lot of work in the community, especially in the cold cultures. How is that working out?

Speaker 2:

Well, it's working out in two ways. I am contributing voluntarily for two organizations in their committee, so I'm part of Engineers Australia. For a few years now we're part of the D&I committee, which is helping engineers integrate well into the relevant workforce and not staying those survival jobs. So there was a big research. The economic benefits are there. It is for the employees well-being as well and the employers get benefit from from the diversity of thought that comes as part of having, you know, migrant workforce. That is for adults primarily, but for students.

Speaker 2:

I am kind of creating the support that I had missing when I was studying, which is kind of opening eyes of those young girls about the careers that are around STEM. I was the only one in my family and the broader community who studied engineering and I thought it's it's only because I was in pakistan. But when I came here I found out that the challenges were were very similar and there are certain assumptions about some careers, like for engineering, it is just usually believed it's not for girls, because engineers work on site and they're wearing hard hat and steel cap, boots etc. And and I never did it as part of my career in pakistan, so I knew that I I can educate people about it. And it was also kind of killing the spark for the girls who perhaps wanting to stem in, get, get into stem careers but they were told, um, that they're more suitable for caregiving roles, like teachers and nurses, so kind of breaking those stereotypes. So we just introduce all those interesting careers around and women come and speak to young girls and all those women that I get a chance to speak to who come as role models are the ones who said that well, I still had to deal with all these kind of assumptions when someone became a supercomputer engineer and there was a woman who was doing research on turtles, so all these kind of things. It just even fascinates me at my age. So it really shines light in eyes of all those young girls who are fascinated by how interesting these STEM careers can be. They don't have to be boring all the time.

Speaker 2:

And my own initiative is where I'm delivering cyber education workshops for school children for communities. Workshops for school children for communities, how they are kind of targeted by cyber criminals and there's exponential growth of you know rate in which they are getting scammed, in australia especially. So kind of educating them on how they can protect themselves, what are the risks involved. And yeah, this is where it came across, because the information is changing pretty rapidly. What happens in cyber is you learn to tackle a situation one way and then there is another way to exploit you. Um, so I was.

Speaker 2:

I was just recently talking to someone where um previously, I was used to tell parents how to protect their kids online is you block certain explicit words in your settings and you know when your children are connected to their devices, they'll not be able to access it. It will get blocked. But what happened over time is you know, the people found a way, like a maybe, to access those children. Still Now they're playing those online games where there are chat rooms, so children have an access, like not children have an access, but strangers have an access to our children while they are in those chat rooms and playing a game. So there is interesting that a ball of noodles is used as an emoji to send it to the people.

Speaker 2:

And I was talking to a few parents and say do you know what that actually means? And I just created a poll about it too, and I think 15 people voted and 14 said they don't know. People voted and 14 said they don't know, um, and that the people who said that they know what it is, I was like did you just find out? Because because I asked about it, or did you know it previously? So noodles is pretty much. You know the team's way of uh, shortening the things is become like, if you, if you say it in a cool way, it's become nudes and that n-double-o-d-l-e-s kind of goes, goes to nudes, n-double-o-d-s, but it actually means n-u-d-e-s, which is kind of asking them for those pictures, which is I would block the word maybe, and it won't still really work because it was just an emoji sent to the child, which means the whole thing.

Speaker 2:

So, yeah, there's lots that we are doing, but then these people are finding back doors too it's crazy out there on how they are approaching the children and we need to just educate our children about the risks that are involved in how to protect themselves.

Speaker 2:

And the big part of what I do in my workshops is the reporting, so where you can report, if any, any incident and similar that comes as a scam or a cyber crime, because you can stay quiet about it and try to hide it. And I know it's a bit embarrassing. I do understand when kids don't want to accept that they made a mistake and they feel like they'll get in trouble if they tell their parents. So they try to hide it, but I just tell them every time that please report because someone needs to know before we can do something about it. So I was actually speaking to another teenager that I know what it means and he was like why do you know? Why do you need to know? And I was like I need to know so I can tell you how to be safe online and I can educate other people. So, yeah, it's interesting out there educating those young people and it's a bit scary as well. I don't know what the people are coming up with next and I'm like kind of chasing to update my knowledge.

Speaker 1:

Well, you've made me very nervous now and I probably need to go check with my children what they think a bowl of noodles means, and I'm hoping they will tell me it's the late-night snack they have when they're hungry and they're playing computer games, and nothing more than that. I'm quite happy with that. But I'm thinking also, jawaria, it's not just as a parent. Yes, I am extremely concerned and I'm finding that it's so hard to keep up with all this when there's so many other pressing commitments to attend to, and you know, I don't know how many parents are so savvy or so aware that there are all these aspects to look at, and it gets harder as the children get older. I wonder if there is also a situation where we are having to do the same for our parents, who also struggle to keep up with technological changes and scams and all sorts of other things that go on online, and then we're also having to help them navigate that.

Speaker 2:

There are some government initiatives where they're providing this kind of information, but I cannot comment on how much the reach of those programs is. Otherwise, yeah, there's private providers who are doing it in collaboration, you know, in collaboration with different agencies. I work with some not-for-profits where I go and speak to their audience. So there they are women who are from migrant backgrounds. There's some some women who are in the job seeker groups, and agencies are like facilitating them. So these women are like really, really vulnerable because they are and they are targeted in that way where they kind of promise the job and then they are asked for money and you know, when someone is in that desperate situation, they just fall for this kind of scam. So I just go and talk to them about that.

Speaker 2:

This is not how employment works in Australia. It might be different in your countries where you come from. So, yeah, different, different community groups, countries where you come from. Um, so, yeah, different, different community groups that I'm working with and then addressing different aspects of what they need to know and how they can protect themselves online. And again, yeah, the reporting aspect is I'm pretty big on it. I don't scare people, but I just tell them. You need to tell someone so they can come and protect you too. It's pretty much more of the education and awareness side of things, um.

Speaker 1:

So yeah, hopefully the message will spread across I'm sure it will spread with time and especially after this podcast interview goes out and people become even more aware. I'm thinking from the point of view of being a migrant, being a woman, being of a different culture, maybe not speaking the language of the country that you move to. There would be a lot of barriers for someone who is new to the community. What kind of support networks or what should they know about when they first come to a new country, let's say, when they come to Australia? What should they be conscious of and what should they start making an effort to do in order that they can integrate in a healthy and positive way into the new community?

Speaker 2:

Well, the very first thing I would say would be because I've been a migrant myself and the early few weeks and months is pretty much when you're on your own and not really have a network to kind of discuss this is what happened and what should I do about it. But I would always say trust your intuition. If it sounds too good to be true, probably double check and try to look for maybe dots that connect and you'll find information that just falls off place, that it seems off. So, yeah, it is harder for really newcomers where they're not provided all that information directly. They are in survival mode anyway. Uh, sorting out their, maybe.

Speaker 2:

If they are coming as refugees, so the trauma services that are really vital at that point in time, and looking for a job, so the income they have, a steady income for that you know, you know bills are pretty big here, um, and if they're coming from, like I would say, countries which which are not having that much stable economy, so surviving here becomes their, like, primary objective, and which is then exploited by all these cyber criminals, I would say so I would still say, start looking for maybe information if this, again, this is where the reporting thing comes in play as well, because when it is reported now, it just comes on one forum or the other in online groups where they mention that this is something happening recently or something new. That pops up pretty much like I put the noodles thing in there in a fun way that certain, just like this one, certain emojis and certain, uh, combination of words are used for a meaning which is not as innocent looking. Um, so it is pretty much. If you, if you look it up online, probably you'll find some information. It is just as how easily accessible those resources are.

Speaker 2:

I'll get there when I you know, take it to the bigger level and make it a national campaign, like I did for my bilingual story time, but at the moment I'm doing as best as I can. Yeah, this is the only thing I can point to at this point in time. We'll just do maybe a quick Google to verify. Is it possible? Is this how we look for jobs in Australia, where you have to pay the money, or is it not normal and similar things?

Speaker 1:

Yeah, Thank you. So because you are so heavily involved in advocacy work, I want to ask you what makes someone a good advocate.

Speaker 2:

Well, that's a big one. I would say persistence, and what helped me was I started where I was and I didn't. I had plans to make the bigger impact, but I knew that I have to do it in a smaller setting and prove my point to be able to grow bigger. So I would say you choose what hardship you are ready to bear and then again, that makes you feel brave as well. When you know again reporting comes there when you know how people are suffering as a result of when they are getting scammed, you become a lot more passionate about okay, I need to tell about 10 different scams that are happening at this point in time to 10 different groups and set it as my personal target and go from there. So, yeah, this is how I kind of roll and this is how I get my strength from, because I'm connected to really grassroots communities and I can see the impact straight away. It just keeps me motivated.

Speaker 1:

So what I heard you say was to start where you are and ensure that you can do a convincing thing, a case with a smaller scenario, a smaller kind of project, where you can prove the value of that project and your proposal very quickly, in order that you can then collaborate in a bigger way, gather more resources, maybe tap into more grants or bigger grants, and then take your message further.

Speaker 1:

Right right and what was some of the on your journey to, you know, becoming a strong and valued part of the community and in making that transition as a migrant, what was some of the beliefs or, you know, conditioning or values maybe that you have carried for a long time, that you had to overcome or you had to change, or did anything at all become something that you needed to work through because you are now in a different environment and a different culture?

Speaker 2:

Well, I would say it was hard being lonely when I was tapping into those spaces, but then I also spent quite some time not doing anything about it. And then I came another rare person facing the similar situation and finding it hard and feeling lonely and not doing anything about it and I was like, okay, okay, now I need to choose my heart. If I just ignore it and say, okay, this will pass, that another person will have to face the same heart too, if I just step into those unknown zones to find the answer, that will make another person's life easier who otherwise will have to face that hard. Then, knowing that that I could have done something about it and not do, anything about it.

Speaker 1:

I was not happy to go that hard so it sounds to me like you're very much driven when you are linked to something higher and beyond yourself, when you realize that there are other people who are going to be impacted if you don't do anything and stay comfortable. So therefore, your choice of heart has the other people in mind.

Speaker 2:

Yes, that's right. It's actually true, for I would say, any of the change makers, when they, when they have their eyes on a bigger purpose, it it just keeps them driven towards achieving something. You might not get there always, but at least you halfway there is is also a success, and then next oncoming person can take from there and start, but at least you can show progress and start changing people's beliefs that this isn't something we cannot do anything about. It was always like this, so just go on with it kind of mindset. So we just kind of, you know, keep going one step forward at a time.

Speaker 1:

One step forward at a time until you get to where you want to be. Now, because this is the Quiet Warrior podcast, I need to ask you what is your take on being a quiet warrior? What makes someone a warrior?

Speaker 2:

Hmm, I would say the quiet warrior is someone who is who is not giving up because the things are not working at that point in time and quietly still fighting to to achieve that goal. Whatever they set their eyes to, if it works that's wonderful, but if it doesn't work, the quiet people definitely have a strategy of looking inwards. And then this is the strength that they have of looking inwards, which they can use to their advantage and quickly probably use their strategy, change their strategy and and use it to give another go from, maybe at a different time when it feels right, or doing it a different way that can give them different results.

Speaker 1:

And what would your advice be for any girls and women listening who are contemplating switching or entering STEM as a career?

Speaker 2:

I would say go for it. This is actually a lot more wonderful than I expected when I even started. I think I started studying engineering because of being maybe stubborn, as you would say, because I had a few doctors around. I was the two choices. There were some doctors but no engineers. And imagine me being a girl deciding to be the engineer. I was like, no, it's not for girls. You can be if you're a boy.

Speaker 2:

But especially after COVID, what I've noticed these are the people who are actually able to do like similar careers as mine, who are very quickly able to switch to those um stay at home workforce, as compared to the carer roles, where you are a teacher or a nurse or a doctor, you have to be in person. You you need to see the people and see the students, although now now it is telehealth and all those virtual classrooms. But the engineering side of things, the stem side of things, pretty quickly moved on to um. You know the online work environment, probably because Probably because we were doing pretty much lots of work on our machines. Anyway, there's a laptop connected to another server or another machine somewhere somewhere in the world and it was very easy to move that to a remote workforce kind of things, and especially women now who are having.

Speaker 2:

You know, I had to have a significant career break because I wanted to stay home with my kids. It would have been a lot easier if I was having young kids now, where you can stay at home and do your work still and you don't have to go to office five days a week and do nine to five. You know corporate roles, which is now I. Now I think it's even more easier. It is a breeze. I don't know the challenges now, I'm just maybe making a broad assumption, but it was a lot harder back then where you definitely have to be there nine to five full time, no option of flexible working. So it is going to be really helpful for young girls and women who are in those caregiving roles where they're supposed to be physically present and then continue doing the kind of work in STEM workforce that you can manage remotely. So, yeah, exciting time in the future.

Speaker 1:

That is the good news that we needed jawaria. Now. If there is someone who wants to reach out to you, maybe collaborate or ask something more about what you do, how would they contact you?

Speaker 2:

um, I think I'm pretty regular on linkedin, so that's a good way. So just send a request connection and we'll have a conversation, always open for it and collaboration and if you have any big ideas let's do it Beautiful.

Speaker 1:

Those are the words we want to hear. So thank you very much, jawaria, for coming on the Quiet Warrior podcast today, and if you have listened to this and found our conversation helpful and it's inspired you, I would love for you to this and found our conversation helpful and it's inspired you. I would love for you to rate and review the Quiet Warrior podcast so that more introverts and quiet achievers can access this podcast and realize that they can become the quiet warriors that are already inside themselves. So see you on the next episode. I'm so grateful that you're here today. If you found this content valuable, please share it on your social media channels and subscribe to the show on your favorite listening platform. Together, we can help more introverts thrive. To receive more uplifting content like this, connect with me on Instagram at Serena Lo Quiet Warrior Coach. Thank you for sharing your time and your energy with me. See you on the next episode.