DUBAI: After being bullied most of her life for being plus-sized, a Dubai-based Pakistani TV reporter decided to fight the social stigmas she had faced by educating others on self-love and body positivity.
Born and raised in Dubai, 28-year-old Arfa Shahid is now a freelance journalist and model who says it is her mission to teach people the meaning of acceptance and self-love after suffering from depression for seven years due to her weight. 
“Self-love to me is being the best version of yourself,” she told Arab News on Monday. “It’s being kind to yourself and being self-aware. It’s an ongoing journey and a choice you make every single day.”
Shahid, who claims to be the first Pakistani plus-sized TV reporter, formerly working with ARY News, often hosts motivational talks in Dubai. She has also set up an Instagram account, Hey, Arfa, where she coaches and motivates people on self-love.

“This is where I first started my journey and here I teach people to apply the principles of self-love and value themselves to reach their goals and be the best person themselves,” she added. 
Shahid is also a model who has been critical of the lack of ready-to-wear plus-size clothing available in stores. 
“I resorted to fashion blogging by sharing things I wear as a plus sized person,” she said. “I realized that as a result of being bullied all life long, people, such as myself, do not love themselves enough and suffer from confidence issues. This is also the reason why I decided to take my journey.”
Recalling a childhood incident, Shahid said: “I was always a chubby kid and soon from being called a cute kid, the comments started becoming mean. I was still four or five when women in parties started shaming my mother, asking why she overfed me.” 
“I remember an Eid when I was just five,” she continued. “All women at a party were only discussing my weight, and I locked myself up in a bathroom and cried my eyes out the entire day.” 
Shahid also recounted incidents in school where teachers body-shamed her.
“Incidents like these really impacted me,” she said. “I felt people were unkind, and I also started being unkind to myself.”

Such incidents also impacted her mental health and resulted in depression, but she ultimately promised to fight the victim mindset. 
Shahid has interviewed Pakistani celebrities and asked them to share their self-love journeys. Hira Mani, Mohib Mirza, Adnan Malik and Hareem Farooq are some of the celebrities who have opened up to Shahid and discussed body positivity issues. 
“I think it will be inspiring to see people whom we take as our role models,” she said. “Even famous people who we think are perfect in every way have their insecurities.”