Our story

Women Rise was started by a Pakistani team. It is an extension of the work that the creator and founder, Maliha Abidi, had been doing for a decade as an artist (using art as a tool for storytelling and social justice) but in Web 3.0.
We created Women Rise for a few reasons:

To use the resources of Web 3.0 and art to spread awareness about women’s rights and to advance girls’ education.

To celebrate and represent women scientists, artists, coders, activists and more on the blockchain through art, storytelling and community building.

To build a female-led project and a community of like-minded individuals who want to see women RISE because, historically, business and tech has been dominated by English-speaking white men and, even in Web 3.0, approximately 80% of the participants are male.

To claim our space in a field where historically people like our founders have not been able to see themselves. Because representation genuinely does matter.

Team

Maliha

Maliha Abidi is a Pakistani-American published author and visual artist. Her work focuses on advocating for social justice including women’s rights, gender equality, girls' education and sharing stories from marginalised communities. Maliha has been sharing stories of incredible women through her art and illustrated books for over 8 years and in November 2021 she launched Women Rise, an art focused NFT project that aims to continue this advocacy in the Web 3.0 space.

Maliha has worked with organisations including UNHCR, Instagram, Adobe and Google. Her work has featured on various media platforms such as The New York Times, Good Morning America, BBC and TRT World and she has represented Women Rise at panels including VeeCon and SXSW.

Aski

Aski is the Operations Director for Women Rise. He has over eight years of experience in financial, non-financial and regulatory audits and consultancy. Before launching Women Rise, Aski held a senior position at one of the Big 4 audit and advisory firms in London.

Sodi

Sodi is the lead developer. He is a crypto enthusiast and has over five years of experience in blockchain and over 10 years of game development experience.

Jia

Jia heads partnerships and supports business operations for Women Rise. She brings with her over ten years experience in banking and finance, where she built skills in public relations, marketing strategy and communications.

Cassie

Cassie is the Content Editor for Women Rise. Cassie has always been passionate about sharing stories from around the world and has worked for various literary organisations with a global outlook, including Wasafiri, Saqi Books and Asia House. Alongside her work she has volunteered for free-speech advocates English PEN and literature site, Asymptote Journal, among others.

Marzia

Marzia is Social Media Manager for Women Rise. She comes from a Psychology and Communications background. Marzia is a multidisciplinary artist and an entrepreneur running her personal art label along with a startup known as The Duende Box.

TheCoreDev (Technical Consultants)

TheCoreDev are our technical support team. They're a team of technology experts with experience in providing technical support to blockchain projects and designing and building utilities for NFT projects (Games, Apps, Ecosystems, etc.).