问与答：“未来是女性 - 没有停止它”

作者：法蒂玛·阿金（Fatima Arkin）

巴基斯坦科学家比尔克斯·古尔（Bilquees Gul）使她的国家成为耐盐植物的领导者。

[MANILA] Pakistani scientist Bilquees Gul’s research is helping put her country on the map for outstanding capacity in sustainable halophyte (salt-tolerant plant) use at a time when global freshwater shortages and sea level rise are causing salinisation of highly productive agro-ecosystems such as the Mekong Delta and the Nile Delta.

去年，Gul，董事Dr. Muhammad Ajmal Khan Institute of Sustainable Halophyte Utilization，，，，卡拉奇大学，，，，became the first female editor-in-chief of the most comprehensive set of研究出版在盐水生态系统和使用盐水上。该系列称为’The Sabkha Ecosystems of the World’，考虑到盐水占全球97％的全球相关性水供应。

Gul在世界上最水的国家之一中出生和长大，对筛查沿海盐植物或耐盐植物特别感兴趣，以实现生物燃料，生物柴油，可食用油，medicines和精油。她的研究正在帮助实现SDGs，特别是SDG 2（零饥饿），6（清洁水和卫生）和7（负担得起且清洁能源）。

In this interview withscidev.net，GUL谈到了如何以及为何发展可持续发展目标和生态系统的弹性很重要，鉴于额外的负担COVID-19大流行，她的工作如何支持本地易受伤害的communities, particularly Pakistani women, and offers advice to young female students who are planning to pursue careers in science andtechnology。

“出于经济目的，用咸水种植盐植物将减少对现有的清洁淡水资源的压力，并保留它们以直接人类的消费”

Bilquees Gul

Your work on halophytes supports the SDGs. How and why is advancing the SDGs and ecosystem resilience all the more important given the additional burden of the COVID-19大流行病？

当涉及到零饥饿时气候变化现在严重挑战常规beplay下载官网西西软件确保食品安全for the fast growing human population, which is expected to reach pass nine billion by 2050. This has led to a surge in research to improve salinity tolerance of crops. However, many halophytes have already been reported as potential crops for saline lands and some are even cultivated on commercial scale, such as the grain crop quinoa. We are working on several halophytes, includingPanicum turgidum，这可能是可持续的cattle feed alternative to maize. Hence, promoting halophyte research and commercial cultivation could be a sustainable means to support SDG 2 that aims to achieve zero hunger in the world.

Freshwater scarcity is, in many parts of the world, emerging as a major bottleneck, since agriculture is a major consumer. Cultivation of halophytes with salty water for economic purposes would reduce pressure on existing clean freshwater resources and spare them for direct human consumption. Hence, halophyte cultivation can indirectly contribute to achieving SDG 6 on clean water. We also believe that use of halophytes can strongly contribute towards achieving SDG 7 on clean活力。由于冠状病毒锁定，人们正面临income loss worldwide，，，，affecting their capacity to buy food, access clean water and other amenities. Achieving the SDGs, especially 2, 6 and 7 will directly benefit vulnerable communities and humanity in general.

Pakistan faces a severe water crisis. How does your work affect vulnerable communities particularly women facing this issue in your country?

巴基斯坦一般是一个水渣国家。缺乏淡水和无法可持续使用雨水来使社会受益的，这会影响该国的粮食和水安全，尤其是对于农村人口而言。女人和children受影响最大的人，因为它们主要参与农业领域的管理，从偏远地区饮用清洁水并照顾家畜。

We believe that the cultivation of halophytes on saline lands with underground salty water will not only help achieve food security in the form of food, fodder and fuel but will also reduce pressure on fresh water currently consumed in agriculture, thereby sparing it for direct human consumption.

Bilquees Gul believes that cultivating halophytes will help ensure food security.
Photo credit: Bilquees Gul.

去年，您成为最全面研究的首位女性编辑出版关于盐水生态系统和盐水利用。编辑过程是什么样的，您从经验中汲取了什么课程？

The journey to where I am now was not an easy one. I had to overcome many“societal barriers” along the way, be it the disadvantage of being an independent woman in a male-dominated society or thegender科学领域中存在的差距 - 这仍然很大程度上存在。

虽然编辑有关盐水生态系统的全面研究可能是很多工作，但这是我喜欢的工作。它还有机会向更大的受众分享新的研究想法。编辑对我来说是一个学习过程，因为我经常发现’t seem quite right to me, but I was not sure what’错了。作为总编辑，当人们对您创建的东西学习感兴趣时，我感到欣喜若狂。

Throughout your career, what were some of the main challenges you faced as a female Asian scientist in a male-dominated industry? How did you overcome these challenges?

我认为，与全球南亚妇女有许多文化期望。南亚妇女在媒体上的观点直到最近才开始转移，这在冰川速度上也是如此。某些意识形态是与南亚的妇女一起放置的，意识形态被归功于以前的殖民者，经过几个世纪的压迫和洗脑。这些历史的沉积物已经渗入了我们的时代，我和我的女同事对他们来说并不陌生。

“Gone are the days when women stay silent over such behaviour. No longer am I conforming to the norms set by a male- dominated society and no longer are we willing to be oppressed by the male gaze. The future is female and I believe there is no stopping it”

Bilquees Gul

It was a journey for me from start to finish. I was lucky to have a family which prioritised myeducation超过我的婚姻和确保我的Ph值。D on a scholarship in the US. Once I started my career, many assumptions were placed on me solely because of my gender identity as a woman, for example, that I am incapable of handling leadership positions or that I am too naïve or too emotional to handle challenges. In a toxic, male-dominated society, such opinions are the norm and every working woman in Pakistan has to fight it at some point. Personally, I distanced myself from toxic and manipulative individuals as I believe they are not worth my time. Gone are the days when women stay silent over such behaviour. No longer am I conforming to the norms set by a male- dominated society and no longer are we willing to be oppressed by the male gaze. The future is female and I believe there is no stopping it.

What advice do you have for young female students who plan to pursue careers in science and technology? And to young female scientists just starting their careers?

Women have the potential to become great scientists, like Marie Curie, Barbara McClintock, etc., But that potential is yet to be realised, optimally. Today, women account for only 30 per cent of the world’s researchers and even lower percentages at higher decision-making levels. The reasons are cultural and social. In various societies, despite propaganda to the contrary, women still have to attain equal rights and be treated as equal members of society. In addition, women are expected to achieve excellence in science without compromising their conventional role within family and society. The only engine of change may be education and realisation of their rights as women. One needs to fight for rights with the knowledge that it is going to be a long-drawn battle and that the existing system will yield gradually under continued and relentless pressure. I would like to see women in developing countries take their well-deserved roles in science. They must not be apologetic nor ask for concessions for being women, but rather take it as a challenge and try to be better than their male colleagues. I know it is not easy for women given the compulsions of society. However, initially, they have to work hard and gradually things will ease out for them and for the generation to come. Take one step at a time. Slow and steady wins the race. I wish all women in science, particularly those from developing countries, will become榜样for others.

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