I’m Pakistani and my country has a reputation for
being a poor, dusty place where women are oppressed.
While I will not deny the problems my country faces,
I won’t stand for the wrong image that the media very
confidently portrays. I’m a neuroscience student and
also an artist who likes to set herself art projects. One
evening I thought, “I will illustrate 15 to 25 portraits.”
I’m interested in female empowerment and celebrating
women from around the globe, and this time, I wanted
to focus on stories of women from Pakistan.
I started by writing the names of the women I
wanted to include in my series, and without even
thinking too hard, I had over 80. Suddenly I realised
I couldn’t just do a portrait series when there are so
many great stories to tell too. Some of the women on
my list have had a wide audience, such as the brave
and amazing Malala Yousafzai. Some have only been
heard by a few, such as Parveen Saeed, a humanitarian
feeding thousands of hungry people when she
herself doesn’t have many resources. After writing
all the names and researching hundreds of stories, I
narrowed it down to 50 that I decided to turn into a
book I named Pakistan for Women: Stories of Women
who have achieved something Extraordinary.
I started by illustrating the portraits themselves.
Sometimes, I drew a portrait four times before I was
satisfied! What kept me going was the passion and
the vision of bringing this together. Imagining this
book in the hands of little girls kept me focussed.
If the Pakistani women I featured could achieve
their dreams through hard work and dedication,
so could girls the world over. From mountaineers
to astrophysicists to educators, Pakistan for Women
brings together true and inspiring stories.
When I was almost finished with the portraits,
I moved on to researching more deeply about theseMaliha Abidi self-published her own illustrated book, Pakistan
for Women, to show the true nature of her homeland.Pakistan through
portraiture
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