By Michael Sauer, APF Arts & Culture Coordinator

Shehzil Malik is an agent for change. A famed designer and illustrator, she has won acclaim in major media news outlets – including CNN, Forbes, and BBC – for her bold, unapologetic art that redefines societal norms at the nexus of feminism and South Asian identity.

Shehzil is both a Fulbright scholar and a 2020 recipient of the Yvonne M.T. Herbert Award from UN Women, the latter earned for her significant contributions to gender equality. Her accolades and commitment to women’s rights are noteworthy and possible because of her unrelenting campaign to dismantle patriarchal norms.

FEMINIST COUNTERNARRATIVES

Coming of age in her native Lahore, Pakistan, Shehzil wanted to confront the physical insecurity and isolation women felt when stepping outside - dynamics that curbed women’s freedoms of expression, movement, and personal ambition.

Armed with a pen and an idea, Shehzil began etching her feminist counternarrative into Pakistani culture. The strong women she envisions through her pen are imbued with vibrant color schemes, riding bicycles with conviction, charting the unknown depths of space, and gazing boldly into the heavens.

IS MY SHIRT LONG ENOUGH?

To complement her burgeoning artwork, Shehzil launched a novel feminist fashion line in Pakistan titled, “Is My Shirt Long Enough?” in October 2017.

Moving from posters to clothing attire introduced new opportunities to disseminate her ideas in mainstream Pakistani culture.

Shehzil’s designs cover the full spectrum of female diversity, talent, and personal style. Moreover, her fashion line began chipping away at the conscious and subconscious roots of gender inequality in Pakistan by validating ideas of women’s rights, economic security, and equal opportunity. 

Last year, Shehzil unveiled original artworks for Karachi’s 2019 Aurat March, a celebration of International Women’s Day. Shehzil hung up posters throughout Lahore in preparation for the march, but in a matter of hours they were shredded, torn down, and neglected.

The Aurat March was not without opposition. Shehzil, ever adroit in countering resistance, did the vandals one better. She released her designs freely onto the internet, enabling countless thousands to download, share, and read her positive messaging. 

Ideas, unlike posters, cannot be destroyed. Affirmed by the viral outpouring of support, Shehzil created additional posters for people to carry during the march. Those posters, held by change-agents across all walks of life,  depicted those same fierce, resolute, and strong women who walked to change everyday life for Pakistani women.