Maliha Abdi @maliha_z_art was born in Karachi, Pakistan, immigrating to the United States with her family when she was just fourteen years old. Navigating life in the US as a Pakistani-American and an immigrant would have a significant impact on her later work. She is best known for her art and her writings but she is also a Medical Neuroscience student. Maliha published her first book, Pakistan for Women: Stories of women who have achieved something extraordinary, in March of 2019. The book tells the story of 50 women from Pakistan alongside their illustrations, also done by Maliha. It was the first of its kind to be published in Pakistan and features stories of mountaineers, firefighters, astrophysicists, among many others. She also founded The Story of Mental Health, dedicated to providing resources on intersectional mental health awareness. The organization also works to create safe spaces for women to seek help for mental health problems and creatively work on their mental health within stigmatized environments. Maliha is working on a second book - Rise - which will feature stories of women of color from more than 30 countries. Her work, both writings and pieces of art, have been featured on the BBC, Glamour Magazine, Malala Fund, and TRT World.In 1994, Shamima was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent intense radiation and chemotherapy. During her battle with cancer, she became the Editor of Al-Qalam, pushing the publication to becoming a flagship of progressive Islam in South Africa. In 1997, she performed hajj for the first time and later wrote about it in “Journey of Discovery: A South African Hajj”, which was published in 2000 after her death. She passed away on 8 January 1998 after a relapse of cancer. One of the funeral prayers was performed by a close female friend of hers who led both men and women in prayer in accordance with her wishes.