Manjeet Kaur Walia

Bio/Background/Family

I was born in Agra, Uttar Pradesh and had many dreams of becoming a flight attendant, getting into magazine publishing, writing. However, as was the culture at that time, daughters were married off when young and concentration was on the sons’ careers. I thought I would be able to have more freedom after marriage but was married into an even more traditional family in Punjab, India. After moving to the USA in 1990, I worked hard to educate my children, three daughters and a son, and make a good life for ourselves but still had a dream to do something creative. Out of this dream, Asia Today Arizona was born. In addition to juggling a job, being there for my children and grandchildren, I make time to be party of the community and use Asia Today Arizona as a platform to voice my opinion and opinions of many others.

Present Title, Work:

Owner, Asia Today Arizona Magazine

I am Symbol of Strength because:

I live my dreams and encourage others to believe and live their dreams

What made you succeed?

I think it is important to be clear on your dreams and goals to be successful. Once that clarity is reached, dedication and desire to chase those dreams, overcome failures, and move past them. I have been lucky to have a lot of friends and family who support me in realizing my dreams. There have also been a lot of naysayers asking me to be cautious or not take risks, but I never let them come in the way of moving forward. And that desire and dedication, while marching to my own tune, is what makes me successful.

Most influencing personality trait you have (succeed or gotten into trouble!)

I am not afraid to ask the question, regardless of what the question is or who the person I am asking the question of is. The worst that will happen is a person will say no. However, many times they say yes and it helps you be more successful just because you asked.

Challenges you faced during your success journey:

I think the biggest challenge I faced when starting the newspaper was that I had never done it before and I did not have experience with it. On top of that, I was targeting the South Asian community which is still very much patriarchal so many would not accept that a female was out there doing some of the things I was doing: asking for advertising, marketing, and making a difference. They wanted to continue to talk to the “man” in charge without realizing that I was the man in charge.

Specific achievement/awards you want to share:

My biggest achievement is the newspaper, how far it has come since 2007, and the continuous positive feedback I continue to get related to it.

Best Memory you want to share with:

The best memory I have is going to an interview for an Indian Airline with my father when I was younger. Even thought I was not able to pursue that dream, the fact that he supported me enough to take me meant a lot to me.

Your views about Women/Women Empowerment:

I think it is very important that women support their own dreams and the dreams of other women. We grow up hearing stories about a Prince Charming that will come rescue us or make our dreams come true. However, in reality, we have to work hard to make our own dreams come true instead of relying on a fantasy.

Your message to all women:

It is extremely important that we as women support other women in our journeys because there is great strength in numbers. We must continue to lift each other up if we want to realize the dream of equality.