United Kingdom
Children's Book Author;
Writer
Hafsah Dabiri is a British Nigerian, based in London, UK. She has a background in Politics and International Relations and in the media space, as a presenter. She loves writing, cooking, and creating inspiring content. She hails from the Yoruba tribe, "so I have lots of middle names that fill up my birth certificate," she says. Her favorite one, that her grandma calls her, is Ayomide (Ah-yoh-me-deh) which means ‘my joy has arrived’. Dabiri grew up in South East London and found it extremely difficult to understand how her faith and culture could find a place within Western society. With the differences in our religious practices and cultural uniqueness, she sometimes felt like a stranger in certain environments. She says she grew up ashamed of parts of my identity that she now would not exchange for the world. Her solace was found in being able to imagine herself as anything, within her journal and the stories she wrote. She wrote stories about being a superhero who could rectify all the prejudices in the world (she was 11). But as she grew up, she began to write down dreams, less as fiction, and more as achievable and reachable goals. "I transformed my childhood identity crisis into an opportunity to provide a dream to those little girls who could not see themselves in books and movies. And to help them imagine themselves as superheroes and characters." She wrote her first children’s book a couple of years ago entitled; ‘Basirah the Basketballer says Insha’allah’. This book sparked her interest in how we can build a global community of Muslims who are more empathetic and understanding. But also, in building platforms and spaces where Muslims can just be and be inspired and learn. In 2020, Hafsah Dabiri was named the new Editor in Chief of MVSLIM -- a popular digital youth publication based in Belgium.
