My Path To Women Empowerment
When people ask me why I am striving to empower women and girls so they can achieve their highest potential in the field of STEM, my answer always brings me to my childhood, when I was dreaming about getting my education in the United States.
This dream led me to start my career as a librarian in our biggest local library. In our community, as well as other communities as well, the role of the librarian is underestimated, however, I do believe librarians play a crucial role in the field of education. Librarianship allowed me to open up my leadership and public speaking skills, while I was working on events to bring to the community about certain issues we are facing.
A New Chapter: American Corner Coordinator
Not so long after I deep dive into the world of the library, my dreams started coming true – the U.S. The Embassy decided to open up an American Corner in our library.
I was the first person called by the library director to ask if I was interested in holding the position of American Corner Coordinator, and my answer was “yes”. That day I realized that when you believe and dream, as well as put your efforts into it, your ambitions, goals, and dreams start to come true.
My life changed a lot, starting something new, a new thing that our community had no idea about, was challenging and at the same time fascinating.
In 2009, my career path also turned into a new direction, giving me more possibilities to develop and improve. In a community where the gender gap is a pressing issue, I was able to register a Public Organization called “Jahoni mo” – (Our world) and lead it. This was a huge success, and at the same time was coming with vast responsibility.
During my career as American Corner coordinator and PO Founder, I was successful in moving the AC to a larger space twice. Moving space to a larger space means that more programs will be provided and more people’s lives will be changed. And that was true: American Corner which was rebranded in 2018 to American Space, (hereinafter AS) started offering more innovative programs such as women and youth empowerment in the field of financial inclusion and STEM.
In 2021 when I was selected to participate in the Hubert H. Humphrey program, which is a prestigious U.S. Department of State program, I realized that I am coming closer to my goals – empowering women and youth through STEM and professional development. Ten amazing months at Penn State University enabled me to empower myself through graduate studies, professional development, leadership, and nonprofit management skills.
Focusing on Future Goals and Community Impact
Coming back to my home country with ambitious goals made me reevaluate my life and my professional goals for the next 5 years. This was a moment I decided to make crucial changes in my professional life – I made a hard decision to resign from the AS coordinator position and solely focus on public organization leveling up. The 16 years I have spent shaping American Space Khujand elevated me both personally and professionally. I am grateful for the opportunity I had as coordinator of this amazing program, as through this extensive period I made significant changes in the lives of thousands of people, which made me a content and confident leader in my field of expertise.
Today thinking about how public organizations can be of more help to the community, I have developed a project and applied for funding to the Office of the Rover Ambassador of Finland for Central Asia, and got approved. One more milestone was achieved – more women and girls now have an opportunity to enhance their IT skills and well-being through this project.
I am also proud of the project that we run today for youth – robotics skills development. Through this project I am pioneering Tajikistan’s participation in the global stage, I am also excited to share that this year we encouraged more girls to be a part of this event, filling the gender gap in the field of STEM.
My long-term goal as a nonprofit lead is to establish an ecosystem between private companies and local nonprofits to drive positive changes in the lives of our community members and beyond.
I know there will be challenges and thorns along the way, however, I truly believe that through perseverance and dedication, one can achieve enormous success.
A Legacy of Service and Empowerment
I love bringing up Dr. Martin Luther King’s quote: “Not everybody can be famous but everybody can be great because greatness is determined by service”.
My message for those out there who are not sure whether it is worth it to go for your dreams – you have a true potential to elevate yourself through your vision and dreams. Every one of us has something unique that other people do not have, we were born unique and our mission is to find this uniqueness and nurture it, so you can turn your wildest dreams into realistic goals that can be achieved. Trust yourself and let it be!
Yours truly
Madina Pulotova
PO “Jahoni mo” Founder and CEO
