Celebrating Women's History Month: Aman Panach

Aman Panach, an alumna of the University of Washington and a former Community Programs Assistant at FIUTS, shares her story for Women’s History Month. This is the second post in a special FIUTS blog series that features stories of current students, staff, and alumni as they work to advance women’s rights and social equity around the globe.

AMAN PANACH

1.) How are you connected to the FIUTS community? 

I worked as a community programs assistant during the Summer of 2017 and then continued on to facilitate FIUTS events throughout the year. 

2.) How do you support women’s rights? 

Well first of all, I am a woman and the best thing that I can do is stand up for my rights. I do not allow myself to get pushed aside when it comes to opportunities. The system we live in is unjust enough (pay inequality, less opportunities, and just basic respect) that we cannot afford to step aside and let go of what we want to do. Coming for a restrictive community, I was blessed to have amazing parents that allowed me to pursue my goals. But I had to face a lot of backlash from some community members when I decided to go away from home to Chicago for graduate school just because of my gender. I could have backed out and made my life easier, but that would have been equivalent of letting go of my rights. Another thing that I generally try to do is encourage other women when they set out to achieve a tough goal because I know it can be difficult. 

3.) What woman inspires you? Why? 

Zaha Hadid became the first woman to win the Pritzker prize in 2004, which is the highest honor an Architect can achieve at a global scale. Her work and ambition to get women fairly recognized in the field highly inspires me and motivates me to do better every day. Going through Architecture school requires a lot of passion and seeing her work fills me with the energy I need to keep working and improving my design work during late hours in the studio.  

4.) What is the biggest challenge women currently face? How do we overcome this obstacle? 

I think that the biggest obstacle is the lack of women in positions of power. We are underrepresented in nearly every field even though we hold more jobs in the US workforce. We need to rise above and obtain the positions that we rightfully deserve. We should be the ones making decisions regarding our future whether it is through our profession or through the political platforms.