September 2016 - Malini Saba

Ladies: Always Stand Your Ground

Malini Saba Thoughts September 21, 2016November 28, 2018women

When I arrived in Asia, I was a rookie ― a deer in headlights. I left the Garden of Eden that was Silicon Valley for the wilderness, and I quickly learned how difficult it was to start from scratch without having anyone you can trust.

It’s been 12 years since then, and we have set up offices in 8 different jurisdictions, all of which are now thriving ― but this was not the case in the beginning. Raising money to grow the business in Asia was difficult. The laws in these countries can be superseded for the right price. It’s who you know, how much you have, and how much of it you are willing to disperse of it to the right person.

If these people became displeased with you, they would try their utmost to discredit you and bring you down.

Men have broken into my home at night and threatened me, telling me I needed to leave the country or die.

I have had a man I trusted spy through cameras he installed in our office to take our contracts before we got them.

I have had men accuse me of having affairs with my staff, and post pictures about it.

They even went as far as to create a false situation regarding my immigration status and demand payment to make it go away.

Despite all of this, I did not fold. It would have been very easy to run away and tell myself all this is not worth the hassle, but I had a business to run and I had invested too much to just drop it. I had to find a way to make it work despite the threats and the false accusations.

As a woman in business, you will meet the good and the bad. You must meet them both, and learn how to handle the most difficult parts calmly and with a clear head. You will also learn that they WILL NOT win if you do not let FEAR take over and cloud your thinking.

The most important thing to remember is to never let fear take over. The best weapon against threats and false accusations is success. You must succeed in order to defeat them.

Focus on your business and your path and always have a lawyer you can trust on your side. Not just an expensive lawyer, but a lawyer who believes in the rights of others ―Human Rights.

If I had folded when these things were thrown at me over the past 10 years, I would not have a business that is worth over half a billion dollars in this part of the world.

Never fold to pressure and difficulties. When one door shuts go through the other, there is always a way to succeed.

This originally appeared on HuffingtonPost.com

How Will a Woman in the White House Change America?

Malini Saba Thoughts September 21, 2016June 3, 2018politics, women

Two hundred years ago, when a woman took a husband in the United States she lost what limited freedom she had as a young adult.

Did you know that after the revolutionary war women who fought and aided independence efforts lost all of their legal standing as an equal under the new Constitution of the United States of America?

In the 1800’s a small group of women decided to protest this flawed system and fight for ours rights and freedoms. This fight brought about small and slow but very meaningful change. They were adamant in improving women’s inferior status in the United States.

The movement for Women’s Suffrage movement began in 1869 began, and on August 26, 1920, the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified. With it, 17 million women won for themselves that most basic promise of democracy: the right to vote. ( npv.org)

Forty years had to pass before we looked at the women’s movement again. In the 1960’s women rose again to ensure federal laws were implemented to create equality in employment and education.

The year is now 2016, 56 years later, and for the first time ever, we have a woman officially nominated by a major political party for President in the United states. Why did we take so long to acknowledge the fact that a woman can be responsible for the Oval office?

The rest of the world moved ahead much earlier. In 1960 Sri Lanka elected the world’s first female prime minister, followed by Argentina in 1974 with the election of President Estela Isabel Martines.

I believe a woman will uphold the respect and integrity of the Oval office when she is finally elected President of the United States.

If a woman becomes President of the most powerful country in the world, it would also have a major impact on the role and importance of women around the world.

She will also manage the world differently and will have a new approach to handling conflicts. Regardless of political party differences, we must come together to celebrate this achievement.

This is not a small fete. By becoming the first woman President , she now holds the most powerful position in the world. A woman with her qualifications would have a balanced view on foreign and national policy.

Having Hillary, a woman, in the white house will be a strength. Why will she be President in November ? She has the best resume thus far from all the Presidents we have ever had. She has been The First lady, Senator, and Secretary of State. We have never in our history had anyone with so many credentials.

When we hire someone for a CEO position, we want years of experience on all fronts and it MUST apply to the most powerful job in the world as well.

A woman will stay calm through the verbal attacks. She has the ability to handle stress and stand her ground with grace and charm on matters. Hillary is a great debater and has been her whole life. She is a great strategist and far better one than Bill. She is and will make sure she is inclusive of all races, religion and stature. She will fight terrorists, and without creating the divide in her nation. She will keep America strong and most importantly she knows what really happens behind closed doors at the white house.

This originally appeared on HuffingtonPost.com