The Riot Collective
Aspiring to create change on a community and global level!
About The Blog
The Riot Collective was started by Girl Up Emirates to write about news, pop culture, under discussed issues and current events. Girl Up Emirates is a UAE-based youth club of the Girl Up Initiative, founded by the UN. Although we don't have a singular focus, we hope to offer diverse perspectives on social issues affecting the Middle East, especially UAE and the home countries of those raised here. Our content will range from basic introduction to concepts like feminism and environmentalism to nuanced intersectional analyses and refreshing takes. We aim to not only educate, but also to share helpful resources we stumble across related to the issues we discuss.
Submissions for articles, art and photography from those outside the club and within the MENA region are welcome, we are happy to empower and platform the voices of our shared causes.
Our Team
Sanjana Biju
Editor
Sanjana is a 20 year old Media & Communication student who enjoys reading about technological determinism, politics and modern literature. In their free time, they like to play with their cats and watch mini-documentaries. Sanjana is passionate about creating change and spreading awareness about issues such as climate change and discrimination.
Shreya Basa
Co-editor of Psychology
Shreya is a 19 year old Psychology student who is passionate about bringing awareness to women's issues and doing their part in making the world a better place for everyone. They enjoy pursuing psychological research because the working of human minds is something that interests them. In their free time, they enjoy listening to music and playing the guitar.
Anusha Asim
Editor of Health
Anusha is a writer and editor, who's passionate about gender and economic equality. They're a fan of early-2000s cartoons and YA fiction. Pursuing biomedical research and psychology are among their main goals.
Gabriele Adam de Castro Buenafe
Editor of Media
Gabriele goes by the name Tehin’na. They're an 18 year old Filipino. They enjoy making art, singing, playing DnD, and is a big fan of shows like Charmed, Motherland: Fort Salem, and The Untamed.
Catherine Sara
Editor of Culture & Fashion
Catherine is a psychology student who is really passionate about either making or listening to music. In their free time, Catherine tries to do their best by educating themselves and others about serious issues that are rarely talked about. They're also interested in fashion and designing. Two things they love most are cats and their guitar!
Shreya Shiva
Editor of Environment
Shreya is a 19 year old business student who is passionate about a plethora of topics, ranging from feminism to climate change. They believe that writing is a medium that can create ripples of inspiration and change. Shreya also loves reading, binging Ghibli Movies & pondering about ‘Spring Day’ lyrics for the millionth time.
Arlene Naomi Sonn
Head of Design Team
Arlene is the team’s design head. Currently pursuing a degree in Culinary Management in Sunway University, Malaysia, she is passionate about discussing societal issues and loves to argue about everything that is wrong with the world. She hopes that through her work at girl up she can make meaningful change.
Josephine Jane Joseph
Curator
Josephine is 19 years old and a student in Architectural Engineering, which drives their fuel for creativity, and they strive to exercise it into everything they do. Jo believes that art can be found in everything, from people to design. Besides all that, they enjoy playing the guitar, gaming, swimming and the obligatory netflix binging. Being a part of change and a movement for the better is what they hope to do.
Sufi Singh
Writer
Sufi is an 18 year old writer who enjoys both reading, and writing about legions of topics, governing a special interest in health, psychology, and nature - which is why they aspire to pursue medicine, philanthropy, and animal welfare in the near future.
Naima Syed
Writer
Naima Syed is a 19 year old writer who really enjoys writing. Along with writing, they're also fond of reading, sketching, painting, designing etc. Naima is passionate about raising awareness about societal issues and helping make small changes to problems that the world is currently facing.
Varsha Muralidharan
Writer
Varsha is a 16 year old student athlete and an avid reader who enjoys everything from autobiographies to experimental fiction. They believe writing is a tool that sparks revolutions if used correctly.
Sara Motlekar
Writer
Sara is a 15 year old student. They enjoy writing about gender and environmental issues to bring awareness. They also enjoy baking, organising and playing with their cats. Sara's wish is to pursue sociology in the future.
Samah
Writer
Samah is a 19 year old Psychology student who thinks it is important to be aware of what happens in this world and to spread that awareness. They simply want to do their small part in making a difference.
Haniya Fazal
Writer
This writer is a 20 year old Psychology student who loves research and spreading awareness regarding climate change and women’s issues. Haniya's hobbies include consuming media that represent the queer community. They also like to meditate and listen to lo-fi jazz for relaxation.
Anvi Verma
Writer
Anvi is a 16 year old student and writer here at Girl Up. They enjoy writing, reading and learning about issues that affect how and where we are today. This writer loves arguing about things that they're passionate about and buying an unnecessary number of books. In my free time, they play the guitar, think about cats, watch cat videos online, and try to convince their parents to get a cat.
Dalia Adil
Writer
Dalia goes by the name Dee. They're an 18 year old student wanting to pursue Psychology in university. They enjoy writing about social issues and psychological issues. They also like to express themselves through art and other creative outlets.
Erika Sreshta
Writer
Erika is a final year BA student. They love listening to music, playing a little music and blogging about environmental issues. They would love to reduce their carbon footprint and encourage others to do the same too. They also love travelling and discovering new countries and cultures.
Rashi Bhalerao
Writer
Rashi is a second year Creative Advertising student who likes to use writing as a means of shedding light on important social and cultural issues prevalent in today’s society. Their other hobbies include playing guitar, writing poems and forcing their friends to watch horror movies with them.
Mercury
Writer
An anonymous writer our society isn't ready for yet. Until it is, I'll just have to share my thoughts with the world through this blog.
Maitri Rulsiani
Writer
Maitri is a 15 year old student who loves writing and raising awareness about issues that are considered taboo and need to be addressed. Apart from that, this writer loves arguing with people, basically their parents since they have no friends because according to them they argue a lot. Dancing,painting, creating fake scenarios in their head, playing any kind of sport, watching netflix and reading books, nay, BUYING books that cost a fortune which they never end up reading are some of their other pastimes. They are also an aspiring musician.
Rae
Social Media Manager
Rae is a 20-year-old psychology student who is passionate about art, social issues, and the environment. They enjoy graphic designing, gardening, and baking. Bringing about change and awareness related to women’s issues is what they hope to accomplish.
Isra Allana
Editor of Feminism
Isra is a 19-year-old student of psychology with criminology. As an individual in their field, they want to create an impact in all their communities, especially for South Asian women like them. Writing is something they've been doing since they were in 4th grade, it's a part of who they are.