![Hate Copy Roti](https://zardozimagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/ROTI_FRAMED.jpg)
Add a little masala and masti and that’s what you get when you see Maria Qamar’s comics. Sometimes controversial and always cheeky, her art is drawing a lot of buzz around the world.
![](https://zardozimagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/CHAI_FRAMED-1.jpg)
Qamar knew she wanted to draw when she was a little girl. “I started competing against other kids in my art class and realized this was something I truly enjoyed doing,” says the 24-year-old. I also love making people laugh, so the two talents worked in my favour later on in life.”
![](https://zardozimagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Screen-Shot-2015-09-21-at-11.30.30-AM.png)
She takes inspiration from her South Asian and North American culture. “I was born and raised in Pakistan to a Gujarati mother and a Bengali father,” says Qamar. “I moved to Canada when I was nine, so I’ve grown up constantly comparing and living among the two lifestyles.”
![](https://zardozimagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/DHISHOOM_FRAMED.jpg)
Qamar blends the two into an interesting mix that tackles topics like sexism, dating and marriage. “Everything I do is about female empowerment because I grew up in a very strong, matriarchal household and I was raised by and was very close to the women in my family (especially the aunties),” says Qamar. “This is probably why I gravitated towards the aunties in Indian soap operas because their day-to-day drama reminded me of the things I grew up with.”
See her work at http://hatecopy.com/