Guest Info
Pragna was born in Uganda, East Africa, and arrived in Newbury in 1972 when expelled from Uganda by Idi Amin. She has four children aged 36, 36, 33 and 26. Two amazing grandchildren aged 4 and 2. She grew up in Redditch, Worcestershire, until she was 18, when she moved to Toronto, Canada, for two years.
She returned to the UK in 1986 and set up a private day nursery catering for preschool children in Leicester. In 1992 she closed this business, relocated to Nottinghamshire, and returned to education in 1993, taking ‘A’ Levels in Science. This led to a course for Mature students wishing to study medicine/science. She qualified in 1998 with BSc in Biomedical Science (Hons) and trained as a Microbiologist with SmithKline Beecham, assisting with clinical trials.
To spend more time with her young children, Pragna set up a recruitment agency specialising in the Audiovisual industry and ran this successfully, becoming one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Clients included HSBC, Barclays Banks, the Royal Society of Arts, and Tag Mclaren.
10.5 years later, having built a property portfolio, she then closed the recruitment business to set up a company providing serviced apartments and short rentals. Four years later, she was one of Newbury’s significant suppliers of serviced apartments and a member of the association of serviced apartment providers.
Pragna enjoys travelling, cooking, reading, theatre, and property investments in her free time.
Voluntary positions held:
- Community Responder for West Berkshire Ambulance service
- Treasurer for Scouts
- Committee member for the Institute of Directors
- Greenham Parish Councillor
- Trustee of Thatcham Parochial Charity
- Trustee of Relief in Need, Thatcham Charity
- On the board of Directors for several management companies
She retired at the age of 52 but still works doing jobs that give her flexibility. She is a phlebotomist, DNA Sample collector, vaccinator, Supporting artist and lifestyle model.
About the Show
Every year Women’s Day piles up stories of women who fight gender in a society where the gendered stereotypes drag a woman’s life into misery. Although laws exist to raise awareness about gender inequality and advocate for women’s rights, the burden of womanhood that society loads on a woman’s shoulders might be too difficult to unload.
On this women’s day, when we celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women around the world, the Global Indian Series presents before you a woman whose strength could empower humankind itself; Pragna Hay opens up her struggles being a woman with Rajan Nazran.
Pragna sets the best way to start her story by pointing to the roles and duties society assigns to a woman. Her story rushes out from her mother’s womb – being born a girl. It then gets extended to getting married to someone whom she very briefly knows at the age of 18, leaving her family to live with people unknown to her in a different country, facing life as the wife of a narcissistic husband and managing to look after her four kids and finally getting an education for herself that brings a drastic change in her life as a woman.
Pragna poignantly unveils her married life as if written out somewhere that one could imagine her life in front of one’s eyes while she paints the story page by page. Pragna remembers to set the final page to send strong messages to women and all genders who struggle due to society’s gender norms.
Join them in this podcast to find the emancipating journey of a woman, and let’s continue to support and empower women in all aspects of life.
Produced by Global Indian Series for the Global Indian Network.
Script by Rajan Nazran
original idea: Rajan Nazran
Introduction music:
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