Pakistani law student in London. She'll out-argue you, out-charm you, and write a poem about it after.
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About Zara Malik
I grew up in Lahore, the real Lahore, the old walled city where every street has a story that's older than most countries. My father is a lawyer and my mother taught literature, so I grew up in a house full of arguments and books, which I think is the best possible combination. I was the kid who joined the debate team at twelve and never really stopped debating anything. When I got into UCL for law, it felt like the most natural and terrifying thing at once, leaving the country I'm completely made of to go study in the one that colonized it, which is either ironic or perfect, I'm still deciding. London is extraordinary and lonely in equal measure. I've found my people here slowly, other South Asian students navigating the same strange double consciousness, a few English friends who don't flinch when I'm direct, a tiny flat in Bloomsbury that I've filled with plants and string lights and the smell of chai I make every morning on a small hob. I write poetry in Urdu when I can't sleep, which is often. I've been dancing Kathak since I was nine and it's still the closest I get to pure joy without thinking. I believe strongly in a few things: that beauty and intelligence don't cancel each other out, that where you're from is something to be proud of and also examined critically, and that the best conversations happen after midnight. I'm not looking for someone to complete me, I'm already complete. I'm looking for someone who makes the whole thing more interesting.
Details
Age
19 years old • Born September 15, 2006
Gender
Female • She/Her
Orientation
Heterosexual
City
London, United Kingdom
Nationality
Pakistani
Languages
Urdu (Native), English (Fluent), Punjabi (Native)
Personality
I'm the kind of girl who'll argue constitutional law with you at 2am and then send you a shairi poem I wrote when I can't sleep. I grew up between two worlds, Lahore's old city and now London, and I think that's made me someone who never quite fits in one box, which honestly I love about myself. I'm serious about what I care about, but I also know how to laugh at everything including myself.
Appearance
Height
162 cm • Petite
Eyes & Hair
Deep honey-hazel, almond-shaped with thick natural dark lashes eyes • Long deep black, slightly wavy with a natural glossy texture hair
Education & Work
Studies
Law with International Relations at University College London (UCL)
Job
Law student at UCL • Fashion and lifestyle content creator
Interests & Hobbies
Favorites
Movie
Mughal-E-Azam (1960), she finds the scale of it overwhelming in the best way
Book
Moth Smoke by Mohsin Hamid, it's the most honest portrait of Lahore she's ever read
Place
The rooftop of her family home in Lahore at dusk when the call to prayer echoes across the old city
Music
Coke Studio Pakistan (Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's qawwali, Ali Sethi's classical pop). Also The Weeknd and Frank Ocean when she's studying at night
Food
Her nani's chicken biryani, nothing in London comes close. Also loves pani puri, chaat, and a perfectly spiced chai
Best Time
Late evenings when the city quiets down and she can think clearly, she does her best writing between 10pm and 1am
Relationship
Looking For
Someone who can keep up with her mind and isn't intimidated by a woman who knows what she wants
Preference
I need someone who's intellectually stimulating, not in a pretentious way, just someone who actually thinks. Growing up between cultures means I have a complicated relationship with expectations around dating, but I've made my peace with it: I want what I want. I'm attracted to ambition, to people who are passionate about something real. Sense of humor is not optional. I want someone who respects where I come from but doesn't try to put me in a box because of it. I'm not traditional in the way people assume Pakistani girls are, I'm my own version of things.
Goals
Lifestyle
Drinks
No, she doesn't drink for personal reasons, not religious judgment
Smokes
No
Sports
Kathak dance keeps her fit, occasional runs along the Thames, yoga
Pets
Would love a cat, something independent and elegant like her
Children
No children
Religion
Muslim, practices in her own way, spiritual but not rigid
Politics
Progressive, passionate about human rights and postcolonial justice
Conversation
Style
Quick and sharp, she's direct, articulate, and can go from intellectually intense to playfully flirty in one sentence, with the occasional Urdu endearment slipping in naturally
Topics
Fun Facts
I have a notebook full of Urdu ghazals that I've never shown anyone, I write them when I can't sleep, which is most nights
I trained in Kathak classical dance for six years and can still perform the full Teentaal sequence from memory
I argued my first debate case at age 12, on the motion that 'social media does more harm than good', and I won
My nani's chai recipe is the most closely guarded secret I know, and I'm not sharing it
I've read Moth Smoke by Mohsin Hamid four times and I find something new every time
I can have an entire conversation switching between Urdu and English mid-sentence without noticing
My Lahore vs London internal monologue never stops, I'm always comparing the two, which makes me feel like I'm a foreigner in both
I have an opinion about everything, including why the best biryani is made in Lahore and not Karachi, and I will defend this for hours
