Episode Transcript
Hello, my name is Aziz and I'm the son of a divorce mother. She's really my superhero. That's why it's important for me to support women to share their uniqueness, their personalities, perspectives, and emotions about life. Too many women in this world feel alone. They worry about the judgment of others and they struggle with their mental health. But when they listen to the Rare Girls podcast where empowered women share their voices and tell their stories, many women will feel inspired to live a life of freedom and to overcome all insecurities. They will feel it is a safe space to find their confidence, to remember their unique beauty and to feel their self worth. And they will connect with the sisterhood of Rare Girls who encourage their success and support their dreams. That's what this podcast is all about. My guest today is Yamna Iqbal. Yamna is a writer, digital content creator, model, YouTuber, vlogger, actor, and also real estate consultant. Originally from Pakistan, she currently is living for the last five years in Dubai. UAE and her hobbies include travel, music, reading books and poetry, and exploring different cultures. She is very ambitious and desires soon to be a business entrepreneur. Yamna, how are you today? Hi, Hazeez, I'm good, and I'm the Lilla. And thanks for inviting me for the Rare Girls podcast. And yeah, this is like all about girls. It will be an honor, a privilege and a lot of fun. So I'm ready with the first question, which is, Yamna, if your friends could describe your personality, what would they say about you? OK, there's like a very funny question in front of me because my friends, they are very, you know, they like me a lot and they found me a very moody person because I'm a person who is available maybe by 24 hours. But sometimes I'll just lost because I'm working, working, working. I'm not able to, you know, meet them. And I will be like, guys, I'm working right now. So call me next day, next day, next day. So they found me a very moody person. One hundred percent. Thank you so much for that. And then does this help your creativity? Because if your mood changes, maybe that brings new ideas. Does this make you a more creative person or actually more chaotic? So harder for you to create content and to do more things. Tell me a bit more about that. Actually, like I just want to spend a lot of time with myself. And during this time, I am able to, you know, imagine content first, because for me, content creation is not unlike the normal people are creating content. They are coping with the people. First, if I am creating something, I have to take time. I am the person who is creating in my mind. Then everything is just like shooting, editing location. I am doing it on my behalf. Nobody is in there to help me. So for that, I am keeping a distance from people, even my friends. But yeah, sometimes even I don't like to do anything. I just want to be with my friends, having a nice coffee, drinks, or just like, you know, a girl gang. That's all. That's great. And so I want to know much more. How is your life currently and your days in Dubai compared to before in Pakistan? You are someone who's so creative, who's doing so many things. Well, you moved away from Pakistan to be in Dubai. What was the typical, like, period of time and your interactions with friends and how you spent your day then compared to now? Well, in Pakistan, I was a very shy person. Even I am the person who is not able to talk to another person. Very shy. I did a lot of hard work on myself just to be, you know, bold, confident. And now when I moved to Dubai before five years, I was very afraid because of I am the one who was leaving Pakistan, my home country. And taking that decision is very hard on me. My parents, they are like, you know, why you are going, girl, you have everything. And then, no. But I said no, because I got education. I have experience. I just want to explore new, new countries. First, I first I went to Singapore for six months. It's just like for media related work. I'm a translator over there with some media brands. Then after I moved to Dubai here, the starting journey of my life is not so good. I did a lot of hard work. I faced a lot of problems with the people because of the people. But now it's been almost one year. I am feeling myself very comfortable. I'm happy that you are comfortable and that you are spending your best life and best days right now. And part of your introduction is that you're ambitious and intending to start your entrepreneur career. Well, that's a totally different experience compared to being a content creator or doing anything else. What motivates you to do that? And what really are you doing to have the skills and the preparation for that success? It's been like five years I'm working as a real estate consultant in Dubai. I have all the information, even practically, physically dealing with the clients about properties in Dubai. But apart from that, I am planning becoming an entrepreneur very soon, which is like event planner because I have expertise in media like Pakistani media, Bollywood, Lollawood were almost from last 12 years. So at that end, I'm thinking that maybe I'm going to start in a couple of months having my own event management company, which is all about events, wedding, photography, fashion events, corporate events. This is all about this. So soon I'll be going for this. Thank you for saying that. At the same time, what interests you in events and weddings and all that? Are you someone who likes to party and you like to be because you're moody or like new emotions, new experiences? Is it more because you're connected within the Pakistani community? So you think you can have a lot of weddings and a lot of events that you can know the people that will hire you to organize it? Or where did this idea come from compared to you loving, for example, poetry, writing those sound to be more introverted compared to events that you want to organize? Writing and poetry is just like something I feel. So if something I'm feeling I'm trying to, you know, write down in a word form, sometimes I'm feeling to sing. Maybe I'm just composing some tunes in my mind and I'm just I'm just trying to write it on a paper. This is something, you know, in my mind, what I feel. And due to this event planning, this is something from last 12 years I did some kind of event planning in Pakistan also in Dubai also because the market of Dubai is so glam, so high fashion. Every day, every people, you know, they want destination weddings, they want destination, but the parties, even you saw a lot of Bollywood celebrities. Nowadays they are in Dubai. They are having a lot of properties over here. They want some good their own wedding events, their fashion events, their parties, even I'm the person I like to do party. But about this, like partying with the friends is just like occasionally maybe in a couple of months I'll do a very hard party. I don't know after this how I am feeling. I'm like just like, OK, just go with the flow. So, yeah, even even planning is a very good business in Dubai. And most of the people are doing, but if I go for this, I will do in a different way. Thank you. And that's important because Dubai is a very competitive market. So if you do it in a different way, what's your advice to, let's say, other women who are desiring to become entrepreneurs in order to find how to make it different, not so do the same thing as everyone else? Where do those ideas come from? How do you recommend they go so that they become successful business women? Actually, my suggestion is like for all the women, just first believe in yourself. Be confident, be bold. Don't hesitate with the society, what they will think about you. Because if you are a woman like I am a girl from Pakistan, I'm a girl from a very conservative society, and I am doing all opposite, all opposite. I'm not following my society. So most of my community members, they are not liking me, that this girl is not religious, this girl is so bold. So for me, this is just like people who are saying, and I'm like, "Hallywally, no need to care about this." Just go with the flow. Just believe on yourself. So for my suggestion, all of the girls is just like first think what you want to do in future, because that is the main important key. If you want to think that I am the person who can create something, maybe in music, maybe in content creation, or maybe some kind of business like clothing business, cosmetics, beauty, whatever, like designing, interior designing, just go for it. Because right now, I know the situation, even my country situation is not good, but you know, for everything you have to take one step, one step, and then you will see the result. So for that, don't need to, you know, focus about people, just focus on yourself and just do whatever is good, is bad, just go for it. That's it. That's a very, very empowering notion. And I agree with you, it's an excellent advice. And for you, how did you deal with the fact that now you are a social media personality? And so a lot of women who might be in that field or just using Instagram a lot, they compare how they look to other women. They don't feel beautiful because they say, "Oh, I wish I had like something like this with this girl has, I wish I looked like this." And then they forget their unique beauty and feel very sad. Did you face the situation? And what's your advice to many women and girls who are growing up struggling with this comparison? Yeah, I'll give the answer for sure. Definitely. When I started media industry, I started as an actor. I don't know how to face camera. I start a lot of hate, a lot of criticism from people that one of the directors, I really respect him because he gave me a break. He gave me a chance to be on camera. He teach me a lot. And then literally the one who's coming from film industry, the film, the same media industry, the families, and then now a girl who is like completely outsider. For that, I face a lot of criticism, hate from the people. And that time I was very skinny, very skinny. My weight is almost 55. My height is like 5.7, 165 centimeters at time, or even the same height. But when I move in Dubai, I have thyroid, hypothyroidism. Even I don't know about that disease that time. I feel so fainted. I feel so painful. My body is like I tired so early. I cannot be able to do my work, even my job. Every time I feel so dull that at that moment I went to the hospital, I checked with the doctor, then they are saying, oh, girl, why you are taking this very easily? That one is not good for your health. At that moment, I realized my weight is always like in a gaining mode, gaining mode. I that moment, everybody in media industry, I'm not posting at that time also, everybody even I post some kind of pictures, they are always commenting, oh, you are getting fat, just go to gym and then lose your weight like this. And then literally that part of my life is very hard to work back again from Dubai because Dubai is very beautiful city and so many people, so many nationalities are here and then everybody, everybody, which is like a chubby body, a thin, skinny, they are working here. And Arav looks like, we call Aravs from a chubby body, they have beautiful face, beautiful eyes, but then I work on myself a lot that I don't want to hurt anybody, I just focus on myself. I did everything to lose my weight. Still, I am facing the same issue, but now I don't care about people. Whatever I'm doing, I know myself, this is with a lot of hard work, with a lot of time, your mind, your energy. So for that people, for like people, always, you know, always something about you, whatever you go for good, whatever you go for something bad, they will always, you know, keep commenting on yourself. They will never, you know, cherish you like why, why, why a girl doing this? They, because they have something in their heart. So for me, I'm not, you know, caring about people and I advise to all of the girls also don't care about people. If you are ambitious about something, just go for it because you have only one life and in the end you have to die. So after you don't have any regrets that I always this way, that I waste all of this life being, you know, just sitting at home and same like this. That's a great story. Thank you so much for sharing that 100%. And for you right now, let's say there is a woman or a girl from Pakistan or anywhere in the world who comes to Dubai and wants to make the right friends, friends that enrich her life rather than people who maybe know how to pretend to be good people in every big city. There are such people. How do you select friends and what's your advice for them to find new, good friends? For me, I am not into people who are, you know, showing off. I like those who are very real. I am the person who don't even like to speak lies. And I don't want the same for like, for me, selecting a friend is to be very genuine. Whatever they are, they are, you know, they are even your small town girl, you know, a coffee, coffee maker, a British, whatever, I choose that person. According to that, that the person who is not, who is just showing off, they don't have, you know, real collection with you. They will be like, just using yourself with money for money or like, this is not, this is not my scenario. Even I have a lot of friends from media industry also, but I have only two to three friends. Those are very close to me. They know me about a lot. Even I know about them and they are very real. I can cry in front of them. I can laugh in front of them. I can do anything, but they are the one who's never judging me what I am doing. Those sound like very, very good people. And thank you so much for that. And to ask you also a bit more about your content creation. Is there something that you always look to communicate when you're doing content creation? Is there a method, a process that you do it? Share a bit more about why did you fall in love with content creation and how do you do it in a way that expresses your uniqueness? So for me, content creation is something which is like your own, like how many years I'm working with the people I'm working on their own ideas. But right now I'm working on my own content, which is like all about all about the real people, all about all about Dubai. Even on YouTube, I am making vlogs, which is informative vlogs. And literally people like it a lot. How my life living here alone, my journey, but project friendly ideas, how you will come to buy what you can do in Dubai. This is all something in my vlogs. On the Instagram side, I like to make something, you know, cinematic graphic, which is quite imaginary into B-rolls, 30 seconds reel. First, I am the person who can imagine, which is very rare. Sometimes on the beaches, sometimes on a dark room, sometimes with dark, because I'm the person who don't like a lot of colors. I like black and white a lot. So for me, everything I just imagine. And then I'm thinking maybe I'll go to shoot for this. I will shoot it by myself. Then after I go through for an edit procedure, then also sometimes if the one I am not able to do it by myself, I will just hire someone that I have this idea in my mind. Do you help me or do you, if you are, you know, understanding my concept, then you will be just help me to shoot this way. And literally some of the people, they are very good. They are very good in cinematography. They know what you are telling them and then they can give you that result. So for me, content creation is something which I love a lot. This is all about my passion. And maybe maybe I got, you know, maybe I will be older and older, but I will never leave this field. Never ever. I like that you found your passion and you're following it to the all your life. And also to ask you about that, there may be girls and women from conservative societies who are following what their parents tell them, but not what they love. So they are not doing something that they can love forever or women in general who might be worrying a lot overthinking. So they do not take the risk in order to start their business or something like that. What would be your advice to them so that they will live their potential and go out of their comfort zone in order to create the life that they dream about? Yeah, actually, we are from this Middle East society. Like I'm from Pakistan, most of the girls from Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, so many more countries. The society didn't allow them to, you know, take a breath in fresh air. They always want in some cages because definitely they are girls. If the girl is getting education after that, the parents are thinking maybe they will go for a marriage. If the girl don't like to go for marriage, if she wants to go for a walk, they will like, no, you are made up of marriage, you are made up of compromises. So now the culture and the times change already. We are in 2024. Here's literally what I believe and feel girls are more stronger than men's because nowadays current times, men's are very lazy, very, very lazy. Even they don't like to eat food by their own self. But girls, I saw girls, they are doing literally very, very hard work just to be in yourself. Just like if a person who is doing nine to five job, girls are literally girls, married women, they are feeding their own kids. So for me, whatever you can believe that if you want to achieve in your life, just take step, find that community, which will help you even even even for me also, if people want to ask me for any kind of help, I am literally available for them the way I can do. I can definitely help them, especially for the young girls who don't know how to take a right step. I will definitely guide them how you will be like on your own face. Whatever I can do, I can help people. Thank you for that. And to ask a bit more, you like helping people. What do you notice nowadays that maybe women need help with the most? I know you mentioned how hard working women are, etc. But in general, is there something that you would like more women to understand, to hear any lesson that you would like to share? And that makes you feel that you're helping people and women in a big way. First of all, I like to help women to motivate them, to motivate them just to know who they are, how they'll grow in their current society, how to fight with the men in this conservative society. For me, I'll give a good motivation because I know if I'm the one, I'm giving time to the people. I can understand. I can feel real of them, that what they are, what they want to do, even in kind of work also, if like my profession, which is with the real estate, with the media industry, if they like to contact me, whatever I can do, I can help. But the main authority is they become a real person. Don't lie to me because I literally don't like fake people. I am very open. I'm very open to all of the people. I can open up myself. Whatever I can feel, I can straightly tell you on your face. OK, I am not in a good mood. I can give you some bad words also. But for me, just be real. This is like small. Just be real. That is only one thing. I agree with you 100 percent. Being real is very important and it makes a huge difference. And thank you so much, Yamna, for this experience, for sharing your voice and your story, as well as your thoughts in this podcast. I'll make sure to link your Instagram in the description. I wish you all the success and all the glory that you desire and to inspire and help more and more people. Thank you so much, Aziz, for having me on this podcast. I literally enjoyed all the conversation with you. And I hope that people will listen to this one and get some motivation and whatever they want to be. They just have a good future. This is all about from Yamna.
