Innovating for SOCIAL CHANGE
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In 2015, I visited Afghanistan for an assignment to collect photographs and stories to raise funds for a Girls Education Program. That was the time when truly, my life changed even more than I could have imagined. As I reflect back on my journey since then, I feel a deep sense of awe at just what and how much has transformed in the course of these years. 

The work involved a fair bit of travel up and down the country and into some of the slightly more remote areas as well. From the terrifying sound of the drones at night to the continuous buzz of a distant propeller, to meeting young girls studying in a roofless school - in a country of harsh extremes of climate both in the winter and in the summer; everything seemed to challenge all that I had seen, felt and experienced in my life so far. My routine in Afghanistan entailed visiting the most food insecure province of the country where I would have conversations with people who could not adequately feed their families, and who were often skipping meals to save some bites for their children. Their idea of dessert, as I remember, was simply having a piece of fruit. These of course, are mild experiences considering that I was in a war-torn country, and it is indeed nothing compared to the lives of so many people living in the proper firefights. And yet, the experience was profound in ways that one simply has to experience to believe. 

I completed my Honors Degree in TV and Film Studies in 2011 and started working as a producer for a national news channel (in Pakistan) covering local current affairs, culture, and economic issues. After a year, I started working in the nonprofit sector. I believe in this age of increased media engagement and commercialization, how we envision the role of the media and technology in development can define how we deal with disasters and humanitarian crises.  

I started working with nonprofit organizations as a media consultant and gained experience in initiatives for the protection of the social and political rights of religious minority groups and their equality. I devised and executed a digital media campaign to draw support for minority quota implementation and Hindu Marriage Bill. 

Published Content

International Catholic Migration Commission
Healthcare for Refugees in Pakistan

Story & Slideshow from KPK, Pakistan

PICO California
Story from Redwood City, California

Photo Contest
Picture from Sindh, Pakistan

Cover Photo for Annual Report

Review (Lahore, Pakistan)

Social Media Campaign

As both visual design professional and rights advocate; I blend design, development initiatives, and strategy across the digital and social channels. I help nonprofits connect the dots between digital storytelling, behavior change, and sustainable development. For one of the projects, I created a digital campaign to showcase the handcrafted work of rural artisan women from interior Sindh, Pakistan. The brand was established on a social platform to display the work of artisans and increase their household income. 

I have worked as a Visual Media Specialist for the UASID-Punjab Youth Workforce Development project, aiming to create awareness and generate support for the socio-political identity of vulnerable youth in South Punjab, Pakistan. 

The projects have required me to travel to some of Pakistan’s most remote areas as well as to Burma, Kabul, Jalalabad, and Laghman in Afghanistan. I have experience in devising strategies for development organizations during emergencies. Extensive fieldwork has trained me to understand and capture moments that truly depict the magnitude of a calamity. During the heatwave emergency in Pakistan, I created a campaign to reach out to people in rural areas of Sindh to create awareness about heatstroke. During the floods, I created video appeals to generate funds for immediate response.  

One of the photographs that I took during the flood response program was selected to be exhibited at the State of the Humanitarian System (SOHS) launches around the world and SOHS material by ALNAP (Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance in Humanitarian Action). I have also conducted trainings on visual communications tools for practitioners from development organizations, youth, and educators.

In 2019, I got selected as an Atlas Corps fellow and worked with a nonprofit PICO California as a Digital and Creative Manager. I provided internal artistic design, branding, and strategic marketing collateral for the organization. We worked on California Legislative Priorities including Civic Engagement and 2020 Census Campaign, Building Race and Class into the Narrative of Policymaking and the Belong Movement; a multi-year statewide intersectional leadership development experience designed to combat polarization and racial anxiety.