The 19-year-old twins have worked for such causes as girls’ education, climate justice, gender equality and inclusivity. They have their own non-profit, The World With MNR, that uses advocacy, storytelling and development to take action and inspire others. They have covered the Social Good Summit in New York City, the Girl Up Leadership Summit in Washington D.C., and done interviews with Justin Trudeau, Malala Yousafzai, and Madame Christine Lagarde. They have received several awards, including the Governor General’s Caring Canadian Award. Recently they released a documentary on the status of girls’ education in Pakistan.

Maryam-nivaal-rehman-img.jpg

Mariam and Nivaal Rehman

<h4>
 MARYAM and
 NIVAAL REHMAN became activists when
 they were eight years old, inspiring girls in their village in Pakistan to
 continue their education. The now 19-year-old twins have since worked for
 such causes as girls’ education, climate justice, gender equality and
 inclusivity. They have their own non-profit, The World With MNR, that uses
 advocacy, storytelling and development to take action and inspire others
 to do the same.
</h4>
<h4>
 They have used their social media and YouTube channels to cover several
 events, including the Social Good Summit in New York City, the Girl Up
 Leadership Summit in Washington D.C., and interviews with Canadian Prime
 Minister Justin Trudeau, Nobel Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai, and Madame
 Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank. They have
 received several awards, including the Governor General’s Caring Canadian
 Award. Recently they released a documentary on the status of girls’
 education in Pakistan, and held global screenings to spark further
 conversation and inspire action.
</h4>


 “Activism is my rent for living on the planet,” is a very powerful quote
 by Alice Walker that has become one of the mantras we live by. For us,
 activism is a responsibility. We feel the need to stand up for causes like
 gender equality, climate justice, and inclusivity, because it is in our
 hands to make the world a better place. As global citizens, we have to
 become informed, understand global issues, and resolve them. We shouldn’t
 settle for a world with inequalities, one in which we don’t treat our
 planet well, and one in which we don’t give each other dignity and
 respect. We humans take so much from our planet that we truly need to pay
 “our rent” for living here. In our journey, we have also learned that we
 can’t do it alone. Others need to get involved, too. We have always aimed
 to inspire others to take action.
 


 <spanundefined
 >Here are our top three tips to get started:
 


<h4>
 Start with one cause
 
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 To be effective as an activist, pick a cause and start taking action,
 then expand from there. You may be wondering how it’s possible to narrow
 it down to one cause, especially with so many issues in the world, but we
 recommend that you start with something local in your community. You don’t
 have to travel to the other side of the world to make a difference,
 because issues of global importance persist in our own backyards, even if
 we don’t recognize them at first. Often, we are best equipped to tackle
 local challenges, because in doing so, we can use our understanding of our
 communities, volunteer on the ground, and have a lasting impact.
 


<hr />

<h5 style="text-align: center">
 For us, activism is a responsibility. We feel the need to stand up for
 causes like gender equality, climate justice, and inclusivity, because it
 is in our hands to make the world a better place. As global citizens, we
 have to become informed, understand global issues, and resolve them.
</h5>
<hr />


 When we began our journey more than ten years ago, we started by
 recognizing that girls in a school in our village in Pakistan were
 quitting school when they reached Grade 5. We resolved to fix the issue by
 understanding the barriers to education they faced. We learned that girls
 were quitting because their families thought it would be best if they
 started to work to support them financially, not recognizing the long-term
 benefits of education for girls. We worked to inspire the girls in our
 village to continue their education, through workshops, and spoke to their
 parents about the benefits of educating their daughters. Some of the girls
 went on to high school, and we are continuing to work with the next
 generation of kids, to ensure they have the opportunity to continue their
 education, too.


<h4>
 Be informed
</h4>

 Taking action for global issues is only half of activism. First, it is
 essential to understand those issues, including the background,
 on-the-ground realities, and ultimately how best to contribute to
 resolving the challenges. Make sure you don’t end up doing more harm than
 good, which makes this research phase critical before you begin your work.
 The best way to conduct research is through consulting a variety of
 sources, including credible books, articles, scholarly journals, films,
 and videos. Try your best to get a holistic overview of the topic, and
 ultimately decide what is your stance. As much as you may try to stay
 neutral when trying to understand global issues, it is also important to
 note that, as Desmond Tutu says, “If you are neutral in situations of
 injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” Therefore, try to
 understand all sides of the situation, and from there you can start to
 understand the best course of action, which will require further research.
 


<img
 class="has-img-center mb-5"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/activism2_img_a82c1aef8f.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-05T13:10:15.876Z"
 alt="activism2"
/>

<h4>
 Talent + Cause = Change
 
</h4>

 We have created this activism formula to help you on your journey.
 Combine your talents with the causes you are passionate about, and make a
 difference. An example of this is when we combined our talent for
 filmmaking and storytelling with the cause of girls’ education, and
 created change by launching a documentary in Pakistan. Our film features
 the girls in our village, and changemakers around the country as well. We
 held screenings of the film worldwide and are doing virtual events now to
 increase its impact. You can do the same by applying this formula in your
 journey.
 


 <spanundefined
 >Over the years, we have had incredible opportunities to support the
 rights of girls all over the world. While many people see the end results
 of our journey, there has been a long process of learning, research, and
 ultimately action. We interviewed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Malala
 Yousafzai for the Malala Fund’s first-ever Facebook Live. We attended the
 G7 Finance and Development Ministers’
 <spanundefined
 >Meetings in 2018 to urge world leaders like the managing director of the
 International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde, to invest in girls’
 education. We even became filmmakers for Disney and the UN Girl Up
 Campaign’s Dream Big Princess project, which raised a million dollars for
 programs for girls around the world and shared the inspiring stories of
 incredible women with millions of families.
 


 We were honored to start working with girls in our village in Pakistan,
 and eventually to advocate for girls around the world at platforms like
 the G7 summit, and we’re just getting started. We think that our journey
 shows the potential of activism, and demonstrates that if you stay
 dedicated to a cause you can make a difference. We urge you to see our
 story as your motivation to take action for the causes you believe in, and
 know that your actions will have an impact!


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<h4 style="text-align: center">
 Article by MARYAM and NIVAAL REHMAN
</h4>
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