Jayisha made a documentary about a 14-year-old Muslim girl and it changed her life.

As a British Indian woman, the rise in Islamophobia around the world presents itself as a personal challenge. Being ‘brown’ has somehow become synonymous with being Muslim and being Muslim with being a ‘terrorist’. I am often misidentified as a Muslim and therefore regarded with suspicion, being racially profiled at airports and casual conversations with people who continue to ask me where I’m really from are examples of such prejudice.

It is a mind-set that hurts both Muslims and non-Muslims alike. While I find any form of Islamophobia unacceptable, as a British Indian woman, from a culturally Hindu background, I’ve found myself in the past defending the fact that I wasn’t Muslim as a way to save myself from certain prejudices.

With that however, came the realisation that I was being complicit in Islamophobia by not fighting against it.

What further adds a layer of complexity is that within my own Hindu community, I often hear elders speak with prejudice against Muslims. The history between Hindus and Muslims dates back to the partition of India.

Not only was I receiving racism outside of the home from the perceived threat of the colour of my skin, but also encountered prejudice towards the religion which I was often misidentified as being, within the home. Such hostility from within my own community towards Muslims provided a great source of discomfort for me as a young woman, who did not, and still does not, share such views.

As a filmmaker, I have the privilege of bringing to light narratives that can help challenge certain prejudices within our society. I therefore wanted to find a narrative that could help dispel the Islamophobia I was encountering both within and outside of my own community.

My previous works have mainly focused on highlighting inspiring women fighting adversity, so I wanted to find a strong female Muslim voice who could lead that narrative.

That strong Muslim voice is Fareeha Tafim, a 14-year-old with dreams of becoming an Indian martial arts champion. A coming-of-age tale of a young woman trying to challenge conservative traditions to gain her independence and her own identity.

Her spirit and ability to challenge stereotypes drew me to her story; to create a film about her to share her incredible strength and perseverance with others.

Going back to when I first met this incredible young woman, I was struck by her vibrant personality. Covered head to toe in a dupatta (a scarf worn in India) and accompanying hijab, she couldn’t wait for her turn to fight her opponent in her wushu self-defence class at school. When she was up next to fight, she flung her glasses across the floor, and had only one thing on her mind: winning.

Her utter determination and focus for her sport was absolutely mesmerising and empowering to witness firsthand. Despite her growing up in a conservative Muslim community in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad where traditional gender roles still exist, with women mainly in the home, she challenges this every day.

It’s unusual for a woman, let alone a young woman, to have aspirations for doing something outside of the ‘gender norm’ in her community, like mastering martial arts.

But how she came into learning this martial art came with its own concerns. Fareeha’s school introduced wushu classes to their female students to teach self-defence techniques in response to the violence towards women in the country. It was also a way to help build their confidence.

With her strong focus, it’s interesting to see the range of influencers and role models in Fareeha’s life which are shaping her world – both females and male. In fact, one of the most interesting parts of following Fareeha’s journey is the inspiring male figures in her life.

So after meeting Fareeha and following her story, my own need to stand up against Islamaphobia has become central to my daily life. In a time where this issue is on the rise, the need for narratives that challenge stereotypes are needed more than ever. Regardless of gender or ethnicity, we are in control of what destiny we want to create for ourselves.

Instead of feeling like I need to defend myself that I’m not Muslim when called one for the colour of my skin, I’ve begun standing up to comments against Muslims within my own networks. Although these gestures may seem small, they truly serve as a starting point which can hopefully make a large impact for others.

I hope in seeing the world through Fareeha’s eyes, we can gain a greater understanding of what unites us, rather than divides us as a global society and see in her an example of a young empowered women, more than anything else, who can lead the way for us all.

See more of Fareeha Tafim’s story on Dateline tonight, Tuesday 14 February at 9.30pm on SBS. The episode will be available after broadcast via SBS On Demand.