This Arab illustrator is empowering women through art

Eman Wasef is an Egyptian illustrator who is currently based in Elizabeth, New Jersey, USA.

She hails from the vibrant city of Alexandria but relocated to the US some time ago.

"As an Arab, Muslim, I have been bullied throughout my whole life, especially when I started wearing the hijab," Wasef told Stepfeed. 

She describes herself as "quiet" and says that "doodling and drawing" helped her become someone else.

"People started seeing me through my drawings. My classmates started voting for me as the most artistic and started noticing more of my art. So that made me want to make my art stand for something," she added.

"I started to focus my art on empowering my culture and empowering women."

"I started making art that represented things that were close to my heart which was Egypt and Islam." 

"I attended college and majored in marketing but I didn’t feel happy because that wasn’t me." 

"After a lot of fighting with my parents, they finally let me study something I loved which was, of course, art."

"Subsequently, I started studying illustration and that's when I created Girl Power. At first, it was just an illustration to show that I was a badass Muslim but then it turned into something more." 

"The Girl Power series went on to become a voice. Girl Power is about female empowerment, that you are not the label you are supposed to be, you are not fat, you are not old, you are whoever you want to be." 

"No matter what kind of woman you are, you are the only one who can define your true self." 

"Now that I graduated college and realised that I can be a voice for others, I am very excited and look forward to continuing empowering women, my culture and my religion, through my art."

For more information on Eman Wasef's art, you can follow her on Instagram, Facebook, or visit her website.

This profile is part of StepFeed's Featured Arabs series, featuring Arabs you should know about. Read previous profiles here.