
Rise: Extraordinary Women of Colour Who Changed the World
Piney Kesting
Maliha Abidi.
Saqi Books, 2021.
“I hope that Rise shows how these remarkable women are, and always have been, on the frontline of change and creativity."
—From Rise
Growing up, Pakistan-born author/illustrator Maliha Abidi struggled to find stories of women with whom she could identify, finding “little space for more women of colour in mainstream media,” explains Abidi, who decided to correct that deficiency. Following the 2019 success of her first publication, Pakistan for Women, Abidi widened her scope. In short profiles accompanied by colorful portraits, she introduces 100 pioneering, inspirational women from over 30 countries: Esther Afua Ocloo, Ghana’s food-processing pioneer; Negin Khpalwak, Afghanistan’s first female orchestra conductor; Funmilayo Ransome Kuti, founder of the Nigerian Women’s Union; Hayat Sindi, a Saudi Arabian biotech scientist, and Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, a US entertainer. “I wanted to create Rise so that women of color could find themselves, and empowerment, in a book,” notes Abidi. “These trailblazing women not only stood up for themselves. They paved the way for so many others.”
—Piney Kesting
You may also be interested in...
Noorjahan Bose: A Life of Learning
Taking inspiration from her now-deceased mother, Noorjahan Bose, a daughter of the Agunmukha, Bangladesh, now shifts her energy toward empowering other daughters.British Library’s 500-Year-Old Nizami Manuscripts Shed Light on Power of Art and Poetry in 12th-Century Herat
Persian and Mughal scholar and specialist Barbara Brend presents a comprehensive study of one of the most highly esteemed works of Persian Literature.