Across Borders and Beyond Barriers: A Woman in Congenital Cardiac Surgery
Dr. Zara Shirazi*
Clinical Fellow – Congenital Cardiac Surgery, National University Heart Centre, Singapore.
*Corresponding Author: Dr. Zara Shirazi, Clinical Fellow – Congenital Cardiac Surgery, National University Heart Centre, Singapore.
https://doi.org/10.58624/SVOAPD.2026.05.010
Received: May 19, 2026
Published: May 30, 2026
Citation: Shirazi Z. Across Borders and Beyond Barriers: A Woman in Congenital Cardiac Surgery. SVOA Paediatrics 2026, 5:3, 76-78. doi: 10.58624/ SVOAPD.2026.05.010
The operating room was never just a workplace for me. It was a statement. I grew up as the only daughter of my parents in Pakistan. From childhood, I was raised with love and encouragement, yet I often heard a quiet societal refrain: “There is no son. What will happen to the parents?” The assumption was simple — a daughter would eventually marry and leave. I did not resent it; instead, I internalized it. I decided early that I would not become a replacement for a son, but a source of strength in my own right. I wanted to choose something extraordinary. Something difficult. Something that would demand resilience.