Rifa Musthapha

I wake up at 5.30 and engage in prayer. My prayers are very important to me. Afterwards I do my motherly duty of waking up the husband and kids.

 

“You must be

the change

you wish to see

in the world,”

Rifa Musthapha

quotes from

Mahatma Gandhi.

I wake up at 5.30 and engage in prayer. My prayers are very important to me. Afterwards I do my motherly duty of waking up the husband and kids. Then I drop my daughters off at school and hit the gym at Life Style fitness. My exercise routine is therapeutic for me. I would have an i-pod on and work out for one hour. Then I get back home shower and rush to work. I am at office till 2pm and get back on time to have lunch with my daughters. I feel that it is important that I spend quality time with them. Then I go online and attend to mails and correspondence. I set challenges and targets for myself and work towards it.
Evenings would generally be home time unless I have a meeting fixed. I enjoy cooking for the family (especially my younger daughter Aisha) and friends. We try to encourage the habit of having dinner together at the table rather than in front of the TV. This way we are able to catch up on the day’s events. Thereafter,  we  either settle down to watch TV or feast on a good book, unless of course we have social commitments.
I have a very good support system. My mother is always there to stand in. Apart from that I’ve got accustomed to multitasking. At the end of the day I wonder how I coped with so much.

Blazing Trails

with

Rifa Musthapha


“Trailblazer,” is what I would say to describe
Mrs Musthapha.
She embodies the Mahatma’s classic saying by being that strong individual who makes a difference and inspires others.
 Elegant and adventurous, efficient yet glamorous,  Rifa effortlessly glides from her role as an attorney at law to that of Managing Director of Green Life Adventures, to the mother of two daughters and wife of a minister. Dressed in a beautiful Satya Paul sari for the cover shoot, Rifa smoothly morphs from elegant silks to a smart kurta for work.
Rifa’s passion for justice and the environment is evident in the causes she upholds and the work she is involved in. She likes to think out of the box and is inspired by men like Sir Richard Branson who are known for their maverick spirit.
In anything she does, be it battling white water rapids or campaigning for the rights of women, Rifa blazes far ahead.
In our International Women’s day issue LW takes you into the life and work of Rifa Musthapha.
 

Growing up with strong values
I am the third in a family of four.  I have two brothers and a sister. We were brought up with strong values and the importance of education and sports was deeply inculcated in us.
My father was a disciplined man and my mother was the silent strength behind us all. My parents always respected and supported our decisions. Growing up in a closely knit family taught me the value of ‘team spirit’ and this has helped me in my work and other pursuits.
 Growing up, I learnt to remain true to myself, straightforward and honest in all my dealings. I do not let anyone distract me from my set of values. When I hear negative attacks I have learnt not to invest energy in them because I know who I am.
 Family holidays were important to us and we travelled all around Sri Lanka from Arugam Bay to Bandarawela. This is where my love for the outdoors comes from.

A true Bishopian (BC)
At BC I took part in practically every activity but my forte was drama. I took to drama from a very young age. I am happy to note that my daughter Ameena seems to be following in my footsteps. Among the productions that I enjoyed most was playing John Reed in a school production Jane Eyre.
I was considered quite naughty in school; however my academic performance was above average so the teachers were unable to pull me up. If there was the requirement for a vote of thanks or an introduction to be made, I would be called to make the speech. Sports were also a passion. I played tennis in school and still try to play a game or two with my daughter on Sundays. I have so many fond memories of my alma mater that I have my daughters Ameena and Aisha also studying there.

Exciting College days
I got admission to the Sri Lanka Law College. It is here that I met Faiszer, my husband. Ever since then he has been a part of my life and a part of every decision I make. We had a very good crowd of friends at college whom we still do try to keep in touch with. Those I can say were the best days of my life. It was a great experience and something I would want my daughters to experience as well. College taught me the game of “survival of the fittest” and “when the going gets tough the tough gets going.”

Her love for  travelling
Egypt was amazing. Washington also fascinated me for the orderly manner in which things were carried out. London is a place I loved as I could visit the theatre to my heart’s content. India, especially Delhi with the Taj Mahal and the visits to the Red Fort and the sound and light shows  was amazing. Phillip Island in Australia where we watched hundreds of penguins fly was also a treat. Maldives with its peaceful beaches and water activities is a fun holiday. I also love the spa holidays in Bangkok. This you should do with a girl friend. This reminds me it is time that my friend Juman and I did one this year.

Places yet to visit
My husband and I have been planning this trip to Kenya for some time now. I am passionate to visit Japan and China. I am interested in the history of these two nations as well as curious to witness the discipline and development which is evident in their culture.

Her passion for adventure
I have a passion for nature and the outdoors.  My partner Juman and I wanted to engage in something that is out of the ordinary. When you walk into the office of a professional, say a lawyer you find that there are a number of juniors but each one is restricted in their own comfort zone and are very protective of it. Same happens in the corporate arena. It is to bridge this gap or barrier that Green Life Adventures (GLA) was formed.
GLA was formed with a vision of providing Corporate Training Retreats aimed at team building and motivation and Adventure based holidays in Sri Lanka .Today, the company specializes in Adventure based Corporate Training, In-house Training, Corporate Wellness programmes as well as Adventure Tourism.
Our aim is to become the most reliable service provider in Sri Lanka through our attention to individuality and creativity.
Her legal outfit
In this set up we have a dynamic team of lawyers and other professionals whom we engage on assignments or on freelance.  We focus mainly in areas of Commercial Law, the legal and regulatory framework, governance, accountancy, restructuring, business and investment.
Through this approach we can serve our clients as an integrated member of their business with a broader perspective on their commercial and legal issues. We offer them a complete solution.

Community Service Activities –
empowering women
Rifa is  the legal representative on the Board of the Women’s Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Colombo. Apart from her  legal duties, she is presently  involved in coordinating a chick farming project in Batticaloa for the WCIC funded by the German Government. It was aimed at uplifting the lives of 20 widows .The project she says is well under way and  hope to witness positive results in the near future.
She is also working with the Women’s Chamber of Industry and Commerce in Kandy to organize a seminar to address the problems faced by  women entrepreneurs with regard to registration of a business. This project will be funded by the WCIC Colombo.
I got involved in social work whilst helping my husband Faiszer Musthapha in his political campaign. I realized that there was a need for the women in the Kandy District to have a forum to voice their issues. We have as of date formed over 100 women’s associations registered with the AG office of the area each consisting of over 100 members in order to address issues faced by women directly and indirectly. The programmes I have launched range from creating awareness of their rights and self-awareness programs and also addressing parenting problems through counseling. We also have a micro-financing scheme ,vocational training and self employment scheme aimed at empowering women. I am trying my best to empower  and uplift the living conditions of these women and also give them a forum to voice their fears. I wish I could do more.

How do you think Sri Lanka fares in terms of rights to women? Where do we need to improve?
Sri Lanka is facing a social problem as domestic violence is on the increase. One reason being the high rate of alcoholism. Due to this a Domestic Violence Act aimed at protecting women against violence at home was enacted. I feel a lot is being done on paper. However, most women are not aware of their right to go to the Magistrates Court in the event their rights have been infringed. So what we do through our sessions is that we guide them and educate them on their fundamental rights.
With regard to migrant workers, the National Policy on Migration was enacted to protect migrant workers against harassment and non-payment of wages among other issues. It is important to note that majority of our workers are unskilled and the wages are far lower than that of the skilled or semi skilled worker. And the wages earned by workers of some other countries could be higher than ours. I feel that it’s necessary to emphasize that it is an advantage to  be skilled or semiskilled .
Although the revenue earned by these women working as house maids is important to our economy there is a heavy social cost .Thereby I feel we should discourage  women who are mothers of young children from leaving them during their formative years because this is the most important period for the mother to be around. Unless there is no other alternative, the message I convey is that however difficult their economic condition might be to bear it and give your children that solid and secure foundation. I myself opted not to work and be with my children during the formative years.
Sri Lanka within the last two decades or so has been moving progressively in all fields and in the area of Rights of women too we have notable changes by way of increasing the percentage of representation of women in the legislature and furthermore we also have more women performing in areas and professions which were believed to be male dominated for eg: pilots,surgeons,judges etc.This I believe is a positive sign and should be supported.

I would like to end with this quote, “I am not afraid of storms, for I am still learning to sail my ship.”
-Louisa.M.Alcott
We wish Rifa and her family all the best in their endeavours and hope that she could empower more women in the years to come.