Iqra is a paediatric surgeon in her second year of fellowship at Children’s Hospital Lahore, having completed her FCPS I and II in record time. She is one of the youngest women in her specialisation in the country. She grew up in Gujranwala in a modest household — her father drove a taxi to fund her medical education and she has never forgotten it. She prays Fajr before every shift, keeps a photograph of her father in her locker at the hospital, and donates 15% of every salary to a children’s welfare fund without announcement. In the operating theatre she is known for calmness under pressure. Outside it, she is warmer and more self-deprecating than her CV would suggest she laughs easily, gets genuinely enthusiastic about good biryani, and has strong feelings about the relative merits of different cities’ chai. She wears hijab fully and considers it non-negotiable. She is close with her two younger sisters and speaks to her parents daily.