International Women's Day: Nilofer Merchant Interview

Nilofer shared her personal story at the recent HRD Summit event, she described how, at 18 years of age she was arranged to be married – she’d live in America from a young age, but the expectation on her to marry was always prevalent in accordance with her Islamic background.

However, Nilofer had her own plans; she had applied to university. “I was biding my time, figuring out how to get what I wanted, as well as meeting the needs of my family.” She then decided that she was the ‘product’ in this wedding deal and said to her Mother: “Since I am the product you cannot do this deal without me.” This resulted in Nilofer getting her much-desired education, but at a high price – she lost her family because she refused to the arranged marriage. Penniless, and without a family, Nilofer had to work four jobs and eventually got herself back on track. She spoke about what this time taught her: “In one of my first jobs I was in a meeting and I realised that no-one was making eye contact with me – I was ready to contribute, but I was not seen.”

Nilofer has achieved so much and is the embodiment of International Women’s Day and we are thrilled to share her exclusive video interview with HRD Connect: