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While the gender
equality issues described
may seem simply too
large and complex to
solve, SSO has been
effectively advocating
for the advancement
of women since 2012.
The SSO was created in
memory of Sonia Shah,
a young American girl of
Pakistani heritage whose
life was taken far too
soon by a car accident.
The mission and values of SSO align with Sonia Shah's passion to
mitigate the gender equalities she witnessed through educational
empowerment. In 2013,
Sonia Shah Organization
partnered with The Human
Development Foundation
(HDF) to implement
the project: Sonia Shah
Memorial School. Sonia's
dream was finally fulfilled on
Sunday, October 19, 2014
with the opening of the
Sonia Shah Memorial School
in the village of Kangra in
Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Her
dream lives on through her
family and a dedicated team
of volunteers who run the
Chicago-based nonprofit
organization. In pursuit of
their mission to alleviate
gender inequality, the Sonia Shah Memorial School (SSMS)
provides students with educational necessities that were previously
unaffordable to female students. Because of generous philanthropy,
the students of SSMS now have access to leading educational
technology and resources. This windfall of technology freely
available to students makes SSMS the first school in Pakhtunkhwa
to incorporate such resources. SSMS has also addressed the need
for electricity and safe drinking water through the installation of
solar panels and state-of-the-art water filtration systems.

malaria, typhoid, dengue, and HIV positive diseases that would
normally prevent a student from coming to school, and could even
cause the death of their entire family. Each student was supplied
with a medical card that could serve as a medical record for future
treatment.

Another barrier to educational success is the lack of access to
high-quality healthcare. Healthcare needs to be equalized to afford
women the most opportunity. To ensure the health and wellness of
all SSMS students, therefore promoting gender equality, in 2019,
the SSMS invited volunteer physicians to perform checkups on the
students. These checkups included checking vitals, administering
vaccines, blood testing, eye exams, and supplying vitamins and
medications necessary for a healthier life. They also ran tests for

Despite the emphasis being placed on projects in Pakistan,
the Shah Foundation endeavors to mitigate the impact of gender
inequality worldwide, and has even extended its initiatives across
the USA. One such domestic effort is the Sonia Shah Scholarship
program, which offers scholarships to women who are unable to
complete their education because of financial burdens. To date, the
program has awarded four students with scholarships that allow
them to attend either a community college or a private four-year
college.
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To preserve domestic skills during the progressive
transformation of Pakistani society, SSMS opened a women's
vocational center. Due to prevalent cultural barriers that prevent
women from pursuing advanced professions, a woman with the
most advanced studies may have no place in current society if
devoid of basic domestic skills. Accordingly, products made in
the course of teaching domestic skills at the vocational center are
sold at auction in fundraising events such as the annual SSO Gala
event held in Chicago, and provide honorable livelihood for these
women who are war widows from American war with the Taliban.

Figure 5: Products created by the widows at the
Women's Vocational Center.

SPRING 2020 | CHESTER COUNT Y Medicine 27
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