The character arc of Muniba Mazari

A life drawn by Character Arc from the public record

Born on 3 March 1987 in Rahim Yar Khan, in southern Punjab, into the Baloch Mazari tribe. Between then and now sit school and a fine arts course begun in her home town, a marriage at eighteen before she could finish it, a car crash on 27 February 2008 that broke her arm, ribs, shoulder blade, collarbone and spine and paralysed her lower body, two years bed-ridden, physiotherapy and a wheelchair, a son adopted in 2011, a painting career, television work, a United Nations ambassadorship in 2015 and a global list in 2016. The line below draws the story so far, in order.

Drag along the line to move, pinch or use the buttons to look closer. Tap the line to pluck it, or any mark for its card. Drawn from the public record of her life; the sources are at the foot of the page.

Who is Muniba Mazari?

Two years in a bed, and then she painted.

She was born in Rahim Yar Khan in southern Punjab, into the Baloch Mazari tribe. She went to a school run for army families and then began a fine arts degree in her home town. At eighteen, before she could complete it, she was married.

On 27 February 2008 she and her husband were driving from Quetta to Rahim Yar Khan when their car crashed. She sustained major injuries: both bones broken in one arm, and her rib cage, shoulder blade, collarbone and spine. The spinal injury left her entire lower body paralysed. The nearest hospital was not equipped for a case that severe, so she was moved twice, finally to a hospital in Karachi. After surgery she was bed-ridden for two years. Physiotherapy followed, and it got her into a wheelchair.

What she built from there was made of several trades at once. She painted, and took a job running somebody's social media page for a monthly wage while she did it. She worked on a project at her son's school teaching Urdu, and with a charity working with children and elderly people. A television executive heard her give a talk and asked her to work at the national broadcaster. She was chosen as the face of a cosmetics campaign and became the first wheelchair-using model for an international hairdressing chain. In 2011, some years after the crash, she adopted her son. In 2015 she was made a national goodwill ambassador for UN Women Pakistan, and she appeared on a global thirty under thirty list for 2016. Most of the career has been built on two things: painting, and standing up in front of rooms.

The moments

Muniba Mazari's timeline.

The 2000s

~2003

School, then fine arts

Everyday. A fine arts course, started in her own town.

~2005

Married at eighteen

Setback, and it changed everything. Eighteen years old, and the degree stopped there.

27 Feb 2008

The car crash

Setback, and it changed everything. Twenty one years old, on a road between two cities.

Mar 2008

Two hospitals, then Karachi

Setback, and it changed everything. Two years in a bed, after being moved twice to find a hospital that could help.

The 2010s

~2010

Physiotherapy, and a wheelchair

Milestone, and it changed everything. Out of the bed, into a chair, and into a different city.

~2011

She adopts her son

Milestone, and it changed everything. Three years after the crash, she became somebody's mother.

1 Jan 2011

Stay private, or go public

Crossroads, decided.

The paths laid out: be seen doing it, taken, or recover quietly. A television executive heard her talk and hired her, and she was made a United Nations ambassador in 2015.

~2012

Painting, and a wage

Milestone, and it changed her direction. The painting did not pay yet, so she did two other jobs while it grew.

Sep 2014

Television, from a talk

Milestone, and it changed everything. One talk, and the national broadcaster called.

~2015

A United Nations ambassador

Milestone, and it changed everything. Seven years after the crash, representing her country's women at the United Nations.

~2016

Thirty under thirty

Milestone, and it changed her direction. A global list, a cosmetics campaign, and the first wheelchair model that chain had used.

Pakistan has her on television and on billboards and in front of audiences, in a wheelchair, without comment. What it has set moving is a change in what an ordinary viewer expects to see: a country where disability was largely invisible in public life now has one of its best known faces sitting down.

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Muniba Mazari: frequently asked questions

What people ask about her line.

What is Muniba Mazari's character arc?

A fine arts student married at eighteen before she could finish, paralysed in a car crash at twenty one and bed-ridden for two years, who began painting, took jobs where she could find them, adopted a son, and became a United Nations ambassador.

What happened to Muniba Mazari?

On 27 February 2008 the car she was travelling in crashed. She broke bones in her arm, rib cage, shoulder blade and collarbone, and a spinal injury left her entire lower body paralysed. She was bed-ridden for two years after surgery.

How did Muniba Mazari start painting?

After the crash and the years in bed. She painted while also taking a job running a social media page for monthly wages and working on a school project teaching Urdu, and most of her career has since been built on painting and speaking.

What is Muniba Mazari's United Nations role?

She became the national goodwill ambassador for UN Women Pakistan in 2015, which is the role she is most widely known for outside her painting. She appeared on the Forbes thirty under thirty list for 2016 as well.

Does Muniba Mazari have children?

Yes, a son named Niele, whom she adopted in 2011, some years after the crash. He appears in the record as the reason she took on a project at his school teaching Urdu while she was building the painting work.

What else has Muniba Mazari done?

She works as an artist, anchor, model, singer and motivational speaker. A television executive heard her give a talk and asked her to work at the national broadcaster, and she became the first wheelchair-using model for an international hairdressing chain.

Where does this timeline of Muniba Mazari's life come from?

From the public record. Character Arc drew every moment on this line from the sources listed at the foot of the page, and the kind and weight of each moment are our editorial reading. Muniba Mazari isn't a Member of Character Arc and has no connection with it, and no feeling is attributed to her.

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Sources

Muniba Mazari, English Wikipedia biography, filed under living people.
UN Women Pakistan, national goodwill ambassador, 2015.
Forbes thirty under thirty list for 2016.