00:01Pakistani artist and author Maliha Abidi is based in southern England, a student of Oxford University.
00:08She works with different artistic mediums ranging from acrylics and colored pencils to digital art.
00:17Maliha has a following of over 150,000 on TikTok and Instagram.
00:22Her journey with social media started 14 years ago when she went to the US to pursue her studies.
00:33At that time, social media was like my online diary.
00:38Today I use social media as a tool to connect with my community.
00:43I use it for campaigning. If I'm making art for a cause, I can share it there.
00:49I use social media for my activism, to share information, to share stories.
00:58Abidi wants to raise awareness for women's rights, social justice and mental health.
01:04All while celebrating her Pakistani heritage.
01:12We discuss the politics of Pakistan a lot.
01:15We discuss it again and again.
01:18But we never talk about the artists, the inventors, the activists, the women who are fighting for women's rights in
01:26Pakistan.
01:27We never talk about them as a celebration. Or if we do, we do very little.
01:35For that reason, Maliha dedicated her book to those very women.
01:39Pakistan for Women has been sold in more than 40 countries.
01:43Her online community played a large role in its success thanks to a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter.
01:48For more information, visit www.internet.info.gov.
