I’m Zahra Haider — a writer and multidisciplinary artist from Islamabad, currently based in Montréal. I write essays on displacement, shame, survival, and what it means to be a Pakistani woman who doesn’t behave.
You might know me from my early essay on sex and politics in Pakistan that went viral on VICE (before VICE became a graveyard). You might know me from protests, from poems, from rage-fueled footnotes. Or maybe you don’t — maybe you just found your way here by accident.
ZERO POINT is named after the largest cloverleaf interchange in South Asia — Islamabad’s chaotic, beautiful heart — and is also a nod to Woman at Point Zero by Nawal El-Saadawi and Revolution at Point Zero by Silvia Federici. These crossroads are where my work begins.
Here, I share essays, meditations, and reflections on South Asia, feminism, philosophy, psychoanalysis, and grief. I write about love and betrayal, about cities and bodies, about history’s scars and everyday survival.
You’ll also find episodes of Armpit Intellectuals — a podcast where we laugh, argue, and reflect through all that feels urgent and absurd.
Sometimes I offer writing workshops, open-access resources, or creative prompts to help you access your own voice. I also share fragments from books, quotes that linger, and recommendations that feed curiousity rather than fatigue it.
This space is for those who want more than doomscrolling. For anyone drawn to South Asian politics, feminist theory, radical thought, and vulnerable storytelling. For those craving nuance, connection, and slow-burning clarity.
Why subscribe?
ZERO POINT is entirely reader-supported. With a paid subscription (roughly the cost of a latte), you’ll get:
Access to the full archive (all posts go behind a paywall after two weeks).
Invitations to virtual writing workshops and our Book Club.
A chance to contribute to a community Q&A column.
And if you need a free subscription, just ask. No questions, no shame.
This is not a brand. It’s a body of work. A lifeline. A gesture.
This is a place for those of us who’ve had to build selves from ashes.
For survivors, for dissenters, for daughters who said no.
With love and friction,
Zahra Haider
About the Author
Zahra Haider is a multidisciplinary artist and writer from Islamabad, Pakistan, currently based in Montréal. She studied Anthropology and Women’s Studies at York University in Toronto. Her work examines the psychic and political fractures of the state — exploring nationalism, otherness, memory, and identity, particularly in relation to Pakistan and its diaspora. Her writing and commentary have been featured on BBC, CNN, VICE, and elsewhere, where she has contributed to conversations on class, gender, sexuality, and gender-based violence in South Asia. Haider is a member of Rang Collective and the Quebec Writers’ Federation.
