I am Yumna Majeed, a 23 years old Space Educator and Medical Lab Technologist, graduated from Allama Iqbal Medical College, Lahore. A medical lab technologist is an allied health professional who conducts tests to help detect, diagnose diseases using samples of human blood, fluids, cells, and tissues. I enjoyed working in different labs during my coursework. I took Medical Genetics as my final year elective subject, but I was disappointed because of the lack of interest among faculty and a proper research lab dedicated to human genetics. I decided to enter this field because the only Life Science subject I was interested in was Human Genetics. Ranging from dinosaurs, all the way till inheritance patterns in human beings has always fascinated me.
I joined BS Medical Lab Technology, considering it my gateway to medical genetics. Working in labs, getting hands-on experience was the best part of my undergrad journey. Being surrounded by enough female classmates as well as doctors was a bonus! But there was this constant discouraging vibe coming from our trainers (Lab Technicians) that girls are not supposed to be in this field. There were no female trainers either. Females often do not pursue a career after graduation which results in more men working in labs. Instead of working in labs, they occasionally pursue masters and then get married. Being married, they are not given the support to pursue a career simultaneously. Additionally, there were other major problems like no research opportunities, no council of allied health professionals etc. Such reasons affected us all, regardless of gender.There is not much awareness about this field and the career options presented are limited to working in the lab. I want to pursue and expand my career as a medical researcher beyong the boundaries of the lab. As mentioned above, since childhood, I am fascinated by inheritance patterns in humans (and dinosaurs. Yes! I want to recreate dinosaurs). I am looking forward to stepping into the research sector of Human Genetics to learn how we can treat various diseases in the zero-gravity environment of space. In terms of my space education background, I have been working to promote Astronomy and Space Technology among kids in Pakistan. I started a space awareness campaign in 2016 and founded Exploration by Yumna, the space education-based organization. It is the Pakistani chapter of various international space education programs. Becoming an astronaut was my childhood dream. Math phobia and no scope of space studies in Pakistan lead me to prioritize the medical field. At school, I was mocked by my teacher and friends for having an unusual ambition. I decided to create space awareness as much as I can so that no child is mocked for their dreams as I was. Due to my young age, very few schools allowed me to spend some time with their students and talk about space-myths. I was rejected by various schools because of my medical education background and teaching outer space, a subject which has no jobs in our country. Schools wanted gifts for their students ignoring all the time, energy, and knowledge I was willing to invest, for free.
A constant discouragement was faced because Pakistan is not in the space race and everyone suggested to leave Pakistan, I cannot fulfill my dreams here. When you are young and a beginner in some field, people think it is fair to exploit you. (stealing content, taking credit, etc). Getting permission from my family was difficult as well. They were not comfortable letting me go to different schools alone without any previous visits or links. My family let me go, considering that I will never continue space education outreach. After working for more than 4 years, I am still not allowed to conduct frequent night sky observation sessions because coming back home before its dark outside is a constant rule. I always sum up my situation by saying
ب ر غ م ر گ م ے ە ا ن ا ج ر پ د ن ا چ f ا و ر ھ گ ے ل ہ پ n ب س q ا ن آ st
The positive response from kids was my biggest motivation. Despite all obstacles and discouragement, I kept moving on because I started getting messages on social media by young girls that we are inspired by you and we want to do something like you are doing for your country. Many parents reached out to me telling me how their kids are obsessed with space! Due to recent awareness about women’s rights and empowerment, my work started getting recognition and more space enthusiasts reached out for guidance. After working for free for 2 years, I managed to register my campaign as an organization. I got a good response when I conducted private workshops and offered courses at schools. It is helping me to make my organization sustainable. I have been working for raising space awareness since 2016. I am leading Pakistani chapters of various international space organizations including Universe Awareness, Space Generation Advisory Council, Space For ArtFoundation, Star Shine For Everyone. On behalf of my volunteering, I have won 3 telescopes at international competitions.(One of this telescope is signed by NASA Astronaut Scott Kelly and two other astronauts). One of my projects is aboutSpace-Art. It is done in collaboration with NASA Astronaut Nicole Stott. I have sent artwork and voice-overs from Lahore to International Space Station as a part of digital artwork. I won Asia-Pacific Space Leadership Award (Nagoya, Japan). A documentary made on my journey won at RAW Film Festival, USA. Got a 25under25 award, got featured by various sites/blogs on behalf of my space
education work. The list may go on but getting these awards was never the purpose behind it. To date, my biggest achievement is the IMPACT that I have created on young minds, the knowledge I have passed on to them, the confidence that I have tried to give them that they can follow their dreams! Hard work and perseverance are the keys.All of this has been done as an individual. I do not have any team. My future goals include conducting sessions in other cities, creating digital content, and building a team for my organization is short-term future goals