Feminist Author Feature: Maliha Abidi
The stories in ‘Rise: Extraordinary Women of Colour Who Changed the World’ by Maliha Abidi are of 100 women of color who we should celebrate everyday! When major media outlets speak on the the subject of women empowerment, the concept of intersectionality is often overlooked. As a result, the same 15 to 20 stories are told all the time and most of the figures are from Western nations like the UK & USA. Few stories from women around the world are told on large platforms. ‘Rise’ takes on an intersectional approach to the curation of extraordinary women shown in the book. Feminist caught up with #FeministAuthor and artist Maliha Abidi to chat about her new book, ‘Rise’, get inspired by the feature below 👇
“Women and girls around the world will find inspiration and strength in the pages of this beautiful book.”
Q: How do you use your power to empower your community?
Maliha: It is simple; by sharing stories from the community that others may feel inspired by. Showcasing stories is one of the most effective ways for inspiring change and mobilising communities.
Q: How did you find your voice?
Maliha: You find your voice by self-reflecting and most importantly, telling yourself that your voice is worth being heard. You are worth being heard.
Q: What was the curatorial process in choosing the portraits in Rise?
Maliha: Well, the first step in this process was making sure that the list is solid and my editor Lynn and I went back and forth on who to add. We worked on the list for a very long time. Once we were able to pin down all the names of incredible women then I started working on the portraits, and all 100 portraits needed at least a few drafts. The first attempts didn’t see the light of the day. I fought through self-doubt and self-loathing, especially because of how special these women are and I really wanted to do justice to their beautiful faces. Some of the women in the book I had to recreate their portraits five times just because I was not happy with how it turned out the previous times and I kept telling myself: “this woman is a legend and you're not doing justice to her legacy, you need to do better.” I was finally able to create the 100 portraits. Making sure that I'm creating the best for these brilliant and beautiful women of colour from around the world was extremely important to me because art is a huge part of me and art is a huge part of Rise and even though there are written stories in this book, through their portraits I tried to build a connection between the woman and the people who will discover their stories.
Q: Do you have a favorite portrait in the book?
Maliha: Oh, that is such a tough question! I don't think I can ever answer that but there are definitely some portraits that I enjoyed creating more than others, not because of any particular reason that had to do with the story but more so because maybe they were later in the process and by that time I had caught the rhythm. I was in sync with my art supplies and with the stories of the women and I think I was enjoying myself a bit more because I was getting closer and closer to the finish line. So one of my favourite portraits from the book has to be of Shirin Neshat, the incredible Iranian artist. Another portrait I enjoyed creating was of Josephine Baker – I didn’t like the first draft, so I left it for a while before coming back to it later and creating a completely new one. I like this one way better. I also loved creating the portrait of Loujain Al Hathloul. Again, I HATED how my first portrait of her turned out especially because of how brave and amazing she is. She deserves the best. I wanted to create a portrait of her with a big smile and with women behind her. I remember feeling so inspired and empowered during painting her portrait. A feeling I experienced while creating all the portraits really.
Q: What is your personal mantra?
Maliha: The fearful run when they smell confidence so keep them running.
Q: You are a prolific artist! Any other new projects we should keep an eye out for?
Maliha: It took me two years to create this beautiful book alongside my lovely team at Saqi Books so for now I'm just focused on making sure that Rise reaches an audience that would feel inspired by stories of 100 amazing women of color and not just feel inspired by them but ensure that they will be able to see themselves and see themselves represented on bookshelves around the world.
Q: Lastly, what does being a feminist mean to you?
Maliha: Being a feminist means having freedom. Freedom can be interpreted differently by everyone but freedom for women to speak, freedom for women to choose, freedom for women to lead, freedom for women to create – that is feminism to me. Just…Freedom. Let us be.
the Author
Maliha Abidi is a Pakistani-American artist and illustrator whose work is dedicated to women’s rights and mental health. Her self-published debut, Pakistan for Women, won Abidi international acclaim with appearances on BBC, Good Morning America and TRT World, among others. She has worked with renowned organisations such as the United Nations, Women’s Aid and the Malala Fund to help create positive change through art.
Rise: Extraordinary Women of Colour Who Changed the World by Maliha Abidi is now available from all good book retailers. #RiseofWOC
