How Zareen’s Feeds Silicon Valley

When I first went to Zareen’s, a Pakistani restaurant in Palo Alto, I was astounded by the long but orderly line, the delicious chai (please limit yourself to three cups, a sign suggested), and the rich mango lassi.

“That’s because we put a lot of mango in,” owner Zareen Khan said. In one corner, a mural of the late Qandeel Baloch has the words Behen Chara (“sisterhood”) painted across.

Khan’s story b­­egins with South Asian women. “I really want them to get out of the house and…be as good as their husbands,” she said to me. “Or better. And be out there, inspire other women. It makes me sad to see...how I spent the first 10 years [after graduation].”