Shamim Akhtar is a 53-year-old single mother from the garrison city of Rawalpindi. She is now Pakistan’s first female truck driver, who stepped out to feed her children after breaking the country’s traditional domestic rule that calls for women to stay home.

“Nothing is too difficult if you have the will, however, if women make themselves believe that they can’t do certain tasks then nothing works for them,” Akhtar said as she prepared herself to transport a load of 7,000 bricks from a factory in Rawalpindi to 120 miles away in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

As her family was going through financial hardship and Akhtar had to support two children at home, and cover the cost of her three eldest daughters’ weddings, she decided to take driving lessons for pulling trailers, driving trucks and tractors. It gave her the courage to break stereotypes and drive through gender-based obstacles.