Afghan Artists Raising Their Reality To The World

Art in its various expressions allows the freedom to present to the public, regardless of their nationality, beliefs, or ideologies, what comes from the deepest interior of the artist and that inspires each brushstroke, each image, each step that is reflected in works whose intrinsic language carries the magic of interpretation and the durability of the message of the recipient.

These are some Afghan women who have felt the need to use their experiences and talents to raise their voices and be transmitters of those who are prevented from speaking or participating for the various reasons that their culture entails, without being exempt from receiving punishments, reproaches, threats and even having to go into exile.

Shamsia Hassani

This young artist is dedicated to creating beautiful and inspiring graffiti that has as a canvas wall in various parts of Afghanistan, in abandoned buildings that have been destroyed by bombs as a result of the war in her native country.

Shamsia was born in April 1988 and is the first female artist in this art modality. The particularity is the use of vibrant colors, the freshness of the images, and the use of elements that convey a special message, such as musical instruments next to the female figures in her works, trying to give another image to the world, since she is convinced that art can change the way people think.

Rada Akbar

In March 2019 and 2020, this photographer promoted group exhibitions with artists from Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, called Abarzanan (Superwomen), in which she unveiled pieces whose proposals reflected the harshness of her daily life.

Lida Abdul

Born in Kabul, she works in performance and video. Abdul considers herself an artistic nomad since, after the Soviet invasion of her country, she fled to India, Germany, and the United States. She relies on cinematographic techniques to expose how concepts such as hope, progress, and the vision of the future are lived in a devastated country.

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Malina Suliman

Born in 1990 in Kabul, she is a painter, sculptor, and graffiti artist. In her works, this artist particularly challenges the imposition of the burqa, defining it as "a form of control under the false idea of respect. Each religion gives a different name to the burqa, but in reality, it only serves to control women and keep them locked up."

Kubra Khademi

Artist whose daring proposal consisted of a performance that he called "Armor" with which he walked through the streets of Kabul with a metal armor tailored to his body, wearing the traditional hijab underneath, denouncing the continuous sexual violence suffered by Afghan women, received countless attacks that led her to leave the country and settle in France.

These artists from Afghanistan transmit to us their way of seeing the world that surrounds them, the prohibitions imposed by the regime and their families, and the options that are restricted by the restrictions and by the actions that seek to silence their manifestations. It is a reality in the XXI century, which sometimes we resist accepting or it seems incredible that it exists.