Srinagar, May 22: An Uttar Pradesh (UP) born Kashmiri bride has brought laurels to the valley as she has been offered to study MSC in Advanced Technology for Financial Computing by the University of Edinburgh.
Darkshan Ali a former student of Jamia Milia Islamia (JMI) born in a rural area of Sikandra Village of Uttar Pradesh is married to a Pampore based Kashmiri since 2019.
Talking to the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) Darkshan said that she has received an offer from the University of Edinburgh for MSc in Advanced Technology for Financial Computing.
“The university, with an acceptance rate of 8.3 percent for the course I hold an offer for, is one of the world’s most prestigious universities,” she said.
Darkshan said that being born in a family in rural Uttar-Pradesh, her parents had to face all sorts of taunts for giving birth to a girl but she became the first girl from her district to top secondary school examination and was conferred with “Amul Vidya Ratan” later.
“When I cleared the Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) entrance exam, my father became a shield and after completing master’s with flying colors, I choose to work as a business analyst developing applications for financial firms and that’s when the quest to study further about the scope of technology in finance began,” She said.
“To my surprise, the ratio of women working in this stream is very low,” Darkshan said. Darkshan said that in August 2019, she got married to a Kashmiri, based in Pampore but had never imagined that life can be so difficult here.
“Given the situation in the valley, I just couldn’t sit back and watch all the kids miss out on their studies due to lockdown. So, I volunteered to impart education to help them in their studies but with the rise in Covid-19, I had to switch to video calls and telephonic lessons,” she said.
Darkshan said that during this period, she had conversations with mothers, and realized the mental stress they are going through while single-handedly managing everything.
“I realized that most of the mothers have to give up their dreams for their children, so my aim is to motivate and influence them to focus on their ambitions too,” she said.
After having a son, Darkshan said that she was constantly supported by her husband to pursue her dream, and it’s his encouragement to study further that led her to apply to the University of Edinburgh.
Darkshan stated that she wants to utilize this opportunity for the welfare of all the women who brush aside their dreams under different circumstances adding that society has very few women enrolled for technical courses like the one she will be studying.
She maintained that studying at the University is going to help her broaden her horizons and meet people from different sections and communities.
“We can help each other and promote things that are right for our society and eradicate negatively driven thinking towards women from society,” she said. “I want to inspire all the women in our society to never give up on their dreams, no matter what.”
“You can work towards your goals irrespective of age, marital status, or even after becoming a mother, nothing should ever stop you from living your dream,” Darkshan in a message for women said—(KNO)
