Muniba Mazari, often referred to as the “Iron Lady of Pakistan” is born on March 3, 1987, in Rahim Yar Khan, Punjab, Pakistan into a conservative Baloch Mazari family.
On February 27, 2008, a car accident left her with multiple fractures—arm, ribs, spinal vertebrae—and resulted in paraplegia. After her accident, doctors warned her she’d never paint again. Yet during two gruelling months in the hospital, surrounded by sterile white walls, she instinctively asked for paints and canvas.
“It was therapy for my soul,” she reflected.
That moment, she said, was her first stroke of rebellion against despair—painting became her voice when speech failed her.
While hospitalized, Muniba began painting acrylic on canvas, inspiring her creative brand “Muniba’s Canvas” with the slogan “Let Your Walls Wear Colours”
When Muniba first wheeled herself into a public space after two years of immobility, societal stigma weighed heavily. But instead of shrinking, she reclaimed her agency—putting on lipstick for herself, not for anyone else. That simple act marked a turning point: acceptance of her new self—and refusing to live at the mercy of others’ judgments.
Muniba literally wrote down her fears: divorce, inability to become a mother, and societal pity. When her marriage ended, she found liberation—not loss. Next, she channeled her longing to be a mother into adopting a son, Niele, finding fulfillment beyond the body she lost.
A polio-awareness ad hit a nerve: seeing a child in a wheelchair depicted as pitiable, Muniba resolved to rewrite this narrative. She embraced speaking, modeling, and painting as powerful tools to dismantle stereotypes, declaring:
“These wheels have given me wings”
—and pledged to uplift others in wheelchairs. Muniba’s message resonated far beyond Pakistan. She became UN Women Pakistan’s first wheelchair-using goodwill ambassador in 2015, featured on BBC’s 100 Most Inspirational Women.
Muniba Mazari embodies resilience and transformation—turning trauma into artistry, personal tragedy into social advocacy, and societal limitations into global influence. Through her art, speeches, media work, and activism, she refuses to be defined by adversity and instead empowers others to embrace their imperfections and fight for justice.
Her message is simple yet profound: rather than waiting to be seen, become the story worth noticing—and never apologize for being both strong and imperfect.
“They call it adversity, I call it opportunity. They call me disabled, I call myself differently abled.”
“When you accept yourself the way you are, the world recognizes you.”
“You are the hero of your own story, and heroes never give up.”
“I am not what happened to me, I am what I choose to become.”