First International Pages at the Prop

On June 16th the Propylaeum hosted our first ever International Pages at the Prop featuring Maliha Abidi. Abidi is a Pakistani American neuro-science student in London who has written books about under-represented and incredible Pakistani women, painted a piece of art of the 100 most iconic women of history, and created a non-profit focused on mental health. During her program, she spoke of her inspiration to write and illustrate her first book, Pakistan for Women, to combat the stark lack of representation of women leaders in a wide variety of fields/careers in her home country, as well as a response to the doctor-bride phenomenon perpetuated by many Pakistani families. Abidi also spoke of the push-back she received when working on this project, “There are so many people not only benefiting from but profiting off of women doubting themselves.” In an extended Q and A session, Abidi shared that she hopes readers of her book “Come for the colors (in her artwork), stay for the stories, and are inspired by the women (that she featured in the book.)” Abidi concluded the program touching on the idea of intersectional feminism and the layered complexities that women face. A recording of this program is available on YouTube.