Hey guys! I know I have been holding off with my posts, but this is one that means a lot to me. To start, have you ever cared about someone you haven’t even met? Or admired someone you haven’t met? I guess its like having a a favorite artist, or heavily admiring a celebrity. This entire post is dedicated to someone I never got the chance to meet, someone who I have and forever will admire, and someone who I will always see as a role model, Zanib Ali Haider. Zanib was the winner of Miss Pakistan world 2012 in Toronto. Now we all have our favorite models, actors, and pageant queens, but how many times do they do something for their community? How many times do you truly see a title holder live out “Beauty with a purpose”? Let me tell you… I have seen MANY. Many different beauty queens from various diverse backgrounds. However, Zanib is the only one I have seen TRULY show what it is to have Beauty with a purpose. Zanibs heart, intelligence, and vision lead her to creating her very own pageant, Miss Pakistan USA. This organization allows Pakistani American women to come out of their comfort zones and raise a voice in a platform that means something to them, this gives Pakistani American the chance to be heard while gaining confidence and building relationships to last a lifetime. This pageant has been very successful in allowing Pakistani American women across the country to build a special sisterhood while raising awareness about various issues. Ever since watching Miss Pakistan World 2012 and seeing Zanibs performance, I could see the passion she had for her country and for other women the entire time she was on stage. I always thought to myself, “man I wish I had the guts to do this. I wish I had her confidence”, slowly her passion became my motivation. In August of 2019, after LOTS of back and forth with myself and my family I finally decided to apply for Miss Pakistan USA 2020, It wasn’t long before Zanib reached out to me for a phone interview. Let me say, I was EXCITED. I was excited about the pageant, about displaying my vision for Pakistani American women, but also because I had the chance to meet and work with the woman who gave me the courage to do any of this to begin with. This was a big goal of mine and without Zanibs motivation and her kind words, I wouldn’t have ever been able to apply. Unfortunately, Zanibs life was cut short after she was killed in a tragic car accident in December of 2019. When I first read about her death, I got a very strong “stomach drop feeling”, one of those sick feelings that makes you lose your appetite and stay up trying to understand why life is so unfair. I think about Zanib often, her words often, and the courage she gave to me and thousands of other women worldwide without even knowing it. She had a beautiful smile and charismatic personality. I am grateful I had the chance to at least talk to her and hear her say I have been selected, I wish I could have met her but I will hold her teachings with me for the rest of my life. I may not have met her, but she had a BIG impact on my life as well as thousands of others. Something I will always remember that she would say is “Always see the world smiling back”. In one of her last interviews I watched, she spoke about how happy she is that Miss Pakistan USA is spreading and every year it reaches a new state. She wanted Pakistan to go to Miss Universe, as I do too. I truly believe one day her vision will be made into a reality. Thank you Zanib for giving me confidence and courage and for making such an amazing impact, you are the TRUE reflection of Beauty with a purpose.
- The pain I and thousands of others feel from Zanibs untimely passing is only a drop compared to what her family is feeling. Please keep Zanibs family and friends in your prayers and please pray for her soul to rest in peace and be surrounded by beautiful gates of Jannat. May Zanibs soul rest in peace and may her legancy live on forever, In Sha Allah.
- “The greatest self is a peaceful smile, that always sees the world smiling back” – Zanib Ali Haider (1987 – 2019)
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