“Everyone says I’m a genius. Maybe that’s true. But there are many children like me in Pakistan. If you give them a little bark they will shine better than me. That is my ambition,” said Arfa Karim, who addressed the world.
Arfa Karim was born in 1995 in Faisalabad, Pakistan. At the age of five, Amjat’s father asked Amjat if he wanted one, after seeing a new computer at school. Amjad, who was working in the United Nations peacekeeping force, bought Arfa a computer. Since then Arfa’s world has continued to expand.
He quickly learned finer skills. To feed her daughter’s interest, Amjat arranged an IT course at a nearby private coaching institute. Arfa’s knowledge expanded more and more.
In 2004, at the age of nine, he cleared Microsoft’s certification exam. With this, Arfa made Pakistan the youngest certified professional by Microsoft.
Microsoft founder Bill Gates was shocked to learn about ARFA. He invited Arfa and his parents to come to Microsoft headquarters.
“Why shouldn’t women my age work at Microsoft? Why aren’t there more women in IT companies?” Arfa had a long conversation with Bill Gates. Through this he became famous all over the world.
Arfa’s return to Pakistan was met with a tumultuous welcome. Visual media and newspapers praised ‘Arfa’. Arfa received three major awards from the Government of Pakistan in 2005. One of them is ‘Pride of Performance’ Award. Arfa still has the distinction of being the recipient of this award at a very young age.
Arfa was invited as a keynote speaker at the ‘Microsoft Developers’ Conference held in Barcelona in 2006. Being the only Pakistani among 5000 developers, Arfa was showered with fame by the Spanish Prime Minister.
In 2010, Arfa was appointed as the brand ambassador for the ‘Evo’ service launched by Pakistan Telecom.
Despite gaining global fame and recognition, Arfa had one wish. After graduating from an Ivy League school, he wanted to become a software engineer. But Arfa was hospitalized due to a heart attack at the age of 16. Bill Gates made efforts to save Arfa’s life. Arranged observation of world famous doctors.
Computer genius Arfa Karim passed away on January 14, 2012. The Pakistani government has honored him by naming the largest technology park in Lahore as ‘Arfa Technology Park’.
This Arfa Karim has paved the way for many Pakistani women including Malala to come abroad.
(Know the Geniuses)
– Iskra | [email protected]