LEADERSHIP IN COLOUR

Diverse Voices, United Vision

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about

Hello and welcome — I’m so glad you’re here. I’m a Head of School, an Asian brown female leader, and someone who has spent much of her life navigating spaces where people like me are still underrepresented. I’m also a Muslim woman, though not visibly so, which has shaped my experience in unique and often complex ways. My identity has taught me that leadership isn’t about fitting a mould — it’s about breaking ceilings, widening doors, and making sure that opportunity is truly for everyone. As an introvert by nature, I didn’t grow up imagining myself at the front of a room, let alone leading an entire school community. But over time I learned that quiet people carry powerful vision — and that confidence looks different on all of us. My journey has been shaped by moments of doubt, resilience, and a deep belief that every child deserves aspiration without limits. Today, I lead with purpose: ✨ championing equity, ✨ amplifying underrepresented voices, ✨ and striving to be the kind of role model I wish I’d seen when I was younger. This blog is my space to share the reality of being a brown female leader — the triumphs, the challenges, the lessons, and the unfiltered truths. If you’re a woman stepping into leadership, someone navigating identity in professional spaces, or simply curious about what leadership looks like behind the scenes… you’re in the right place. Here’s to growing, leading, and paving the way — together.

  • Finding My Place

    For most of my life, I’ve been described as quiet. An introvert. Someone who works hard in the background, who leads with calm and intention rather than noise and performance. For a long time, I questioned whether those qualities belonged in leadership at all — especially as a brown woman navigating spaces where we are still so often underrepresented.

    Today, I’m a Head of School.

    A role model for the children who walk through our doors every morning.

    A woman who leads with conviction, compassion, and a belief that opportunity should have no ceiling.

    But getting here wasn’t linear.

    I grew up not seeing many leaders who looked like me , Asian, female, Muslim (even if not visibly so), thoughtful, observant, and quietly ambitious. Leadership was portrayed as loud, charismatic, always certain. I often felt like I didn’t fit the mould. But what I’ve realised, slowly, and sometimes painfully, is that leadership is not one shape. It isn’t one voice, one energy, one identity.

    Leadership expands when we step into it authentically.

    Becoming a Head of School has shown me the power of representing possibilities that children may not have imagined for themselves. When a child sees a leader who looks like them, or prays like them, or comes from a family like theirs, something shifts. Suddenly, ambition feels allowed. Suddenly, the world feels a little wider.

    I want this blog to be a space where we talk honestly about that journey — the triumphs and the insecurities, the cultural and personal complexities, the joy of serving our communities, and the quiet battles we fight within ourselves.

    I’m writing for every woman who has ever doubted whether her voice was enough.

    For every brown girl who grew up shrinking herself to fit into rooms that weren’t built with her in mind.

    For every aspiring leader who knows she has more to offer, she just hasn’t been given the permission, or the platform, or the confidence yet.

    Here’s the truth I want to begin with:

    You don’t need permission.

    You don’t need to fit a template.

    You don’t need to change who you are.

    There is power in softness.

    There is strength in humility.

    There is leadership in being exactly who you are.