Today I experienced something unlike I have ever in my life. I was getting out of the metro on 23rd Street around 11AM. I went through those metal gates that you push through with your body weight. As I walked out of the metal contraption, I saw two legs on the ground.
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These words by have been ringing in my ears since the first time I heard them so I decided to draw them and with each brush stroke, I flamed and extinguished the rage every woman has felt at being abused and called names for having an opinion and a place at the table.
It's so sad that an important organisation like , quite literally creating a safe space for Black women experiencing DV in the UK where there is ample racism in the DV sector, is facing racist abuse for pointing out racism. There's a price for speaking up.
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During the 3 minutes it takes the police to come, a lot of things happened that weighed heavy on me. I started praying Islamic prayers for the dead. And the construction worker and I start talking. He's also muslim. We talk about the lack of empathy as people keep passing us by.
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I was just so shocked to the core about how the man on the floor had been ignored for how long before I stopped. How long was he there for? Why did people keep passing by? Why did I have a moment of hesitation before I did something? Why did his life have no value to the girls?
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When I narrated this to my doctor husband he told me how to do first Aid next time. I am definitely taking up the course. I also realised my husband and his colleagues do this everyday. Being confronted with death. Telling families their loved ones are gone.
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I was really shaken by this experience but continued my day which included meeting 2 people and speaking at an event. And I have no idea where the man is. If anyone knows how I can find what happened to him, please let me know!
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There were 4 people involved in this. Three black men and me. And I don't know how or why that feels significant but it just does. I wanted to stay there until the police and EMTs take him to the ambulance and treated him with dignity and respect. That was a huge relief.
I've been waiting for 7 years to say this: I've got some personal news. From next month, I'll be going full time on . I've loved working at for the past 3 years and being part of the community but it's time I give Chayn my full focus.
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The police officer said something that really broke my heart. He said thanks for calling us and not leaving him. Really, thank you. The construction worker says the same to me and I thank him for helping. I go up to find the man who called the police but he was gone.
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Two young girls come through the stairs and realise they can't enter the platform and then see the construction worker and me. And the human on the ground. They see me crying & laugh. Both of us look at them in shock.
He's dead bitch. He OD'd. And then they leave 💔
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For my husband, its children. And they get no support on vicarious trauma. He often tells me how hard it is to keep it together when he is scanning children and can see cancer has spread everywhere and the parents are right there - looking at your face for clues.
The fact that the UK court found Depp guilty on 14 counts of domestic abuse and US jury found that Amber Heard acted with malice in sharing her experience of domestic abuse shows how difficult it is to try cases of GBV in court.
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He tells me "he's gone". I start sobbing. I look at the man on the phone with the police. He asks me shocked "he's dead?". I nodd. He tells the police. I did not want to leave the man on the floor until I was sure he was going to be treated with respect.
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We decide we need to call the police. We go up the stairs and he calls the police. Some construction workers are around and one man asks me what happened as my face was probably ashen. I tell him. He runs downstairs with me. Bless this man. He looks for a pulse (touches wrist).
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The construction worker pulls his finger and we are trying to determine rigor mortis. The finger has elasticity so a tiny hope lights in our heart. I wanted to touch to feel the body temperature (who knows how long he had been there) but I am shaking and quietly crying. Scared.
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I thought it may be a homeless person but as I walked one more step, I was taken aback by what I saw. A black male-appearing person was sprawled on the ground with their head agaist the space between two metal doors. Eyes looking up. Body rigid. White vomit across their mouth.
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I touched his gold glittery sneakers with my black boots to see if he would respond. At this point I am trembling as the reality of the situation is becoming clear to me. People keep passing us bye and ignoring the human body on the ground. I speak to the man next to me.
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I gasped. Another man who had just come through also stopped. We looked at each other. I said he's not okay. We need to check him. For a second both of us hesitated to commit to it but then we both got close. I called out to him. No response.
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I had never seen a dead body (I hope he survives) before that wasn't a relative at a funeral. I was jittery and on edge the rest of the day.
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6 police officers arrive and check pulse the right way (my doctor husband told me this later) by checking the neck. There is a faint pulse. There was hope.
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The EMTs come within 2 mins of them and lift him up to the ambulance. I give my details to the police officer and say it looked like someone had attacked him.
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Meanwhile, I start noticing more things and talking to the construction worker friend about it. The way we found the man on the floor was not natural in any way. His jeans had been pulled down to reveal joggers and his underwear.
In what can only be described as unbelievable, I was awarded a BEM for my work with . Thank you for anyone who championed me for this. It's a huge honour for the team & me but also bittersweet. The word "empire" is like a stake in the heart.
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There was a glossier browgel lying next to him (gender assumption). His jacket is off. His backpack is standing upright and has been opened and looks almost empty.
When I was at uni, I was inspired by looking at the people of colour on #30Under30. Today I am that person & it makes my heart fly that there is a Pakistani girl out there thinking she can do it too. Yes چیتی you can! 🇵🇰 Thank you to the community for leading with me.
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Meet the 30 Under 30 Europe Class of 2018. #ForbesU30Europe
on.forbes.com/6011DMEtB
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I'm flying back to the UK right now & just wanted to say I'm reading all your messages & replies. I'm going to respond to everyone tomorrow. Thank you so much for your love, appreciation & prayers. I've reached out to NYPD to find out about the man. I'll keep updating this 🧵.
My perpetual position in life is asking the tech sector to be less tech solutionist, more thoughtful and celebrate slow growth; and asking the charity sector to be less tech cynical, more experimental and celebrate rapid iterations.
Going live on soon to talk about women's safety and patriarchal norms that create unsafe environments at home, online and in public spaces.
Got an email accusing me of reverse discrimination bec I told a white woman suggesting 3 white trustees in an interview for wasn't good. They said they don't see colour. Explained intersectional feminism. Apparently I'm part of an ideology that discriminates white women.
Thori sharam karein. She gains nothing from doing this work & having people like you & Ali Zafar slander her. She's undoubtedly one of the best people I know and have worked with. As a Pakistani, you should be proud but then that requires taking off the glasses of misogyny.
This cannot be said enough:
Don't ask your employees (esp PoC) to do the job of a diversity & inclusion expert. Hire a consultant. Spend the money. If you can't afford an expert for a long time, hire them for a few days. If you can't do that, hire them for your next team retreat.
Unreal.
The fact that Andrew Tate still enjoys a cult following in young men and boys despite his brand being based on extreme misogyny should be a wake up call to anyone who does not believe that masculinity is in crisis. Not because of feminism. Because of toxic masculinity.
I've been working hard to raise 300k so can close the £ gap we have for this year. It would pay for salaries. I've talked to many founders about the emotional toll of this responsibility. So I'm starting this thread to share how I'm doing in reaching this target! ✊🏽
You can buy flowers for women in your team any day. Instead, DO something to challenge inequalities at work.
💁🏽♀️ #IWD2021
9 months in the making. 's draft strategy slides are here for your review and comments! Chayn works in the open with many organisations in the GBV & digital rights space, and supports hundreds of thousands of survivors. Help us create our future!
I am back to work today after a glorious week of family celebrations for my brother's Pakistani x Scottish wedding. 4 events. 40-250 people. 7 days of sleeping at 4am and waking up at 9am. Instagrammed the whole thing because it was a fusion of cultures! Here's my favourite pic.
Thinkers and CEOs of the twitterverse, tomorrow is my first day as the full-time CEO of . I've been away from any work for the past 8 days. What questions should I ask myself to set goals for my year or 6 months ahead? Would love some advice.
The problem with project-base funding models is that you spend so much time looking and applying for funding for 10k and 15k that it leaves little time to do the actual work and build an organisation to work towards a long term goal.
Come work with me! is hiring a Movement Builder to make sure our transformative resources are accessible to even more survivors & frontline organisations. Strategy + Action.
Salary: £55k
Location: UK
Duration: 1 year
Deadline: 31 Jan
It's not brave to have a digital fund. It's brave to have a (digital) maintenance fund. Fund for consistency. Fund for experimentation. Fund for being in it for the long haul, and not unsustainable pilots.
Tick-box thinking:
✅A woman of colour is leading the racism enquiry.
Critical thinking:
🧠A woman of colour who has denied the existence of everyday racism is leading the enquiry.
Critical thinking needs to be a compulsory subject at all levels of education.
And for everyone wondering, yes this was the big career news! The hint was in my twitter bio all along 😆
Honoured & humbled to be an fellow. I first learned about the programme when I was introduced to the world of social entrepeneurship at Oxford Jam & . This is before I started . Always thought if I became a fellow, I must be creating systemic change. 🙏🏼
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Join us in welcoming newly elected @Ashoka Fellows @JB_Alison, @herahussain, @TemiMwale and @TessyBritton into the Ashoka community! 
These social entrepreneurs are committed to creating a world that truly works for the good of all.
Read more 
ashoka.org/en-gb/story/me
These social entrepreneurs are committed to creating a world that truly works for the good of all.
Read more ashoka.org/en-gb/story/me
I Have Done 5 Mins of Googling & Have Producer's Notes Infront Of Me. Looke How I Will Reduce An Overdue & Glorious Moment To Highlight What I Really Think About Muslim Communities. No I Will Not Be Told How To Do Feminism Any Other Way. Thank You. twitter.com/BBCWomansHour/
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Say a little prayer for those who are in an abusive home and are now facing the prospect of self-isolation and them or their abusers working from home. Digital services are morw important than ever. has been getting many messages across our channels.
Just spent the craziest afternoon in London where introduced and told me that we were doing work!
If you're a large corporation wanting to celebrate #IWD2020, don't
❌ buy secretaries 💐
❌ give spa 🎟️
❌ do a Ladies lunch
Do
✔️close the wage gap
✔️enact equal pay
✔️improve working conditions
✔️increase parental leave
✔ create GBV support programs
✔ fund frontline orgs
This needs to be part of journalism school on how not to cover a groundbreaking moment when it involves a woman.
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“For many women, especially in the public eye, wearing make-up makes them feel more confident and empowered. They don’t call it ‘war paint’ for nothing” telegraph.co.uk/beauty/news/li
I have so many thoughts on this as a recovering hackathon go-er and attendee. Will be writing up why most hack events are a waste of time and money unless the motive and post-hack support package is clear. Organisers have the best intentions but the format isn't suited to this.
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Calling all data scientists and software engineers 
We are hosting a #hackathon with @beautystack to #endviolenceagainstwomen 
It's free, register your place here 
eventbrite.co.uk/e/beautystack-
We are hosting a #hackathon with @beautystack to #endviolenceagainstwomen It's free, register your place here eventbrite.co.uk/e/beautystack-Folks, 2023 is 10 years of . It's still here, standing, and growing despite all the odds. Survivor-led. Global. Multi-lingual. Trauma-informed. Open source. Free. Our community wants to mark this year with some sort of celebration of the effort that's gone into it.
The solution is not that hard.
1. Publish all bids. Yes, including bid prices.
2. Publish contracts awards on TIME as the UK has committed to many times.
3. Create item by item price comparisons for local and central procurement officers.
hmm... if only there was a whole book talking about this...
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The @babylonhealth Chatbot has descended to a whole new level of incompetence, with #DeathByChatbot #GenderBias.
Classic #HeartAttack symptoms in a FEMALE, results in a diagnosis of #PanicAttack or #Depression.
The Chatbot ONLY suggests the possibility of a #HeartAttack in MEN!
I am so relieved to see this. I never reported how one of these teachers groped me many times after class despite the fact that his daughter was an acquaintance of mine. Was 14 or 15. Don't know why I never reported it. I am glad these girls did. #lgs1a1
I am so grateful that we have normalised crying during meetings at & instead of asking someone to leave so they can gather themselves, we create space for that moment to just exist; and get support from peers. Like today, I just needed to cry & vent out of frustration!
Kind of unreal to be on just now with the formidable who I've been watching on TV for a long time. I spoke about the latest figures from showing a 25% increase in domestic abuse calls. has experienced a 3x increase in online visits too.
I've now done 5 radio/TV interviews & highlighted the fact that patriarchal structures make women unsafe in public spaces & at home. And three times someone has tried to "correct" me to say "some men" or in "some cases" despite me telling numbers.
After weeks of rejection, finally some good funding news and I feel a ton lighter already. Great way to start the long weekend!
Folks, I've gone from managing 400 volunteers to also 9 staff and I'm looking for some training for myself and others on line management. Do you have any courses or training to recommend? We are an agile & fast paced org with a flat-ish structure.
Shia clerics telling us to "give Taliban a chance" bec US troops left must be forgetting the routing attacks Taliban have done *recently* in Shia neighbourhoods in Kabul, including targetting maternity wards and schools. There is no silver lining to what's happenign in Afg.
Since 2020 when I joined 's Spokesperson's Network, I've been booked ✨187✨ times to speak on national media. The programme boosts the # of progressive & diverse voices in media to challenge pervasive narratives. If you're a funder, you should consider supporting them!
We are told to celebrate Eid as muslims irrespective of what's happening around us - to us. All I can think of as I say "Khair Mubarik" are the 7 people in my family who are no longer around because of Covid. The forwarded Whatsapp messages I will never receive. The grief.
I'll be on BBC One today at 10.30AM talking about why Scotland's Gender Recognition Reform Bill is such a progressive legislation and how much of the fears around this by gender-critical feminists are based on fear, not evidence or principles of equity.
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On Sunday's show we are asking:
SHOULD IT BE EASIER TO CHANGE YOUR LEGAL SEX?
This follows the UK government's decision to block Scotland's proposed reforms which would have made it easier to get a Gender Recognition Certificate. Let us know what you think… #bbcsml
I woke up with a heavy, sinking heart. It took me hours to get out of bed. Worried about my grandmother's sisters, who are like my own grandmother. They are ill due to Covid. Please pray for their recovery.
You just need to see the trolling on the #BritishIslam2017 to see why even online spaces can be an intimidating place for muslims in UK.
My new washing machine was set to Danish by mistake, by me and despite many attempts to change it to English, I can't figure it out. So I've given up and have learned all the laundry-related Danish words.
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I hope there are millions of little 's around the country, thinking of a fairer and equal world that they can create - whether they decide to become an actor, musician, lawyer, doctor, housewife, activist or journalist. She inspires me every day.
I'll be going on 🤰🏾leave soon and want to find the best person to lead Chayn while I'm away. Know of someone fantastic? Send them this ad! You could be based anywhere in the world. Looking for a CEO with a fundraising background.
If someone creates a pill for sparking creativity, I volunteer for trials. I've spent 3 days trying to do one thing and then just did it in 1 hour because had a spark. How can a human brain do something in 60 mins when it has failed to do it in 21 hours?
You can buy 💐 & chocolates for women in your life any day of the year. Today is about:
✊🏽labour rights (incl sex workers, mothers & carers)
✊🏽sexual & reproductive rights
✊🏽life free from abuse
✊🏽equality in law
✊🏽migration rights
✊🏽digital rights (let's close the gap)
#IWD23
I started off writing a short blog on trauma-informed design but it's now 2000 words and I've only explained one of the eight values that make up the set I've been using at . This is going to be a report-sized deep dive.
We send something to drink and eat to team members for staff wellbeing check-ins and I got this for mine. It's such a thoughtful and lovely way to talk about things that can be heavy. Kim, 's Ops Manager is doing amazing work on trauma-informed HR practices.
Something that happens to me a lot is that people assume I am the Co-Founder of rather than the sole Founder even when I clarify it. In the early years, I didn't insist because it felt vain to do so but recently it has made me realise something else more important.
More than 50 signups in one day! We've got a target of 300. Thank you all for sharing this. Please continue doing this! Much thanks to for supporting our work. We woud have burned ourselves out doing it just as volunteers. bloom.chayn.co
What work do we need to do to challenge the idea that one organisation must do everything for everyone? It's a very warped understanding of inclusion. It's impossible for one organisation to be all that and also not good for diversity of thought, and a flourishing civic space.
Been crying since 8.30AM. Another generous soul passed away due to Covid19. I got to know him because he was helping a survivor I'm supporting in prison. He would call me every week to ask about her. He raised money for her. Gave her own money. Read her trial transcripts.
My father, husband, brother, uncle, auntie & cousins are working as doctors in the NHS and they're putting their lives at risk. The Govt is refusing to test staff who are the highest risk of getting & transmitting #COVID19. Please sign this. change.org/p/test-frontli
We are hosting a workshop on tech design vulnerabilities which allow gender-based abuse to happen & how those can be mitigated. Which tech folks would like to come or who should we invite? Reply, DM or tag! and I will invite them.
This month is going to be rough. So many funding applications. Ideally, I need to raise at least 300k in the next year to meet our ambitious. Organisations doing much less have budgets of millions. How?!
I was feeling a bit washed out from overwork, the heat & not being able to run (too many people outside!) but then I got the loveliest message from a survivor about the impact 's work has had on them and it made me feel so much lighter and happier. This is all worth it.
I really cherish writing rejection emails. I used to hate doing it so much. Felt like I was snatching economic opportunities from people (irrespective of how established they are). Rejection emails are always so cold so I invest a lot of love & care into the ones sends.
New report on corruption & London property market uses Nawaz Sharif as a case study: transparency.org.uk/publications/f
For the first time, is co-creating a "lived in" organisational strategy and you're all invited to be part of it. Read this post to see what we've planned & the provocations we've set up for our process. hera.medium.com/illuminating-t
omg guysss I can't believe I've been keeping this secret ALL to myself... this one hack will change your life... you can condemn and report racist abuse *without* quote tweeting and screenshotting it.. you're welcome.☺️
Interesting strategy from . Let's prove the black *professor* wrong about racism by talking over him loudly&asking him why he doesn't leave the UK if it is that bad like go back to where he is from. 👏🏼
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'The history of this country is built on racism' says Professor Kehinde Andrews attacking the UK's past actions.
He says the UK has ruined the world and that it is a racist country, built on racism. He went on to call Winston Churchill one of the roots of the problem.
1:32
It's kind of unreal how far the world of #opengov has come in the past few years on gender and inclusion, much thanks to the work of . I'm proud to represent both in this campaign. More WoC at the front pls! #BreaktheRoles
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We’re launching a gender and inclusion campaign because open government requires the active participation of diverse voices to transform outcomes for all.
Learn more at breaktheroles.org
#BreaktheRoles bit.ly/2HLljRM
I have worked in & run a non-profits for the past 6 years. You're naive if you think charities can run on national funds alone esp in a country like Pakistan that doesn't have the philanthropic & government grants infrastructure that many Global North countries do. It's standard.
One of the best awards to get for the toughest projects I have ever worked on in my career! So fantastic to get recognition for 's community (100s of volunteer hours + survivor stories), staff (special shout out to - project lead) and collaborators.
