Designed and co-illustrated A-Z of Feminism for Pakistan's Aurat March 2020 (Women's Day Campaign).
"A to Z of our politics - our struggle for legal and rights based change, but also our resistance against the policing of our selfhood: our bodies, our desires, our lived every day."
"A to Z of our politics - our struggle for legal and rights based change, but also our resistance against the policing of our selfhood: our bodies, our desires, our lived every day."
A for Azaad.
One of our main demands is for marginalized bodies to have the freedom to occupy and participate in whatever space they desire. Sexual harassment on the streets is rampant and a major factor through which the movement of women is controlled. Public spaces need to be more accessible to women, trans folk, and non binary people, but we are not azaad on the streets to walk, drive, protest or exist.
B is for behenchara, or sisterhood.
One of our main demands is for marginalized bodies to have the freedom to occupy and participate in whatever space they desire. Sexual harassment on the streets is rampant and a major factor through which the movement of women is controlled. Public spaces need to be more accessible to women, trans folk, and non binary people, but we are not azaad on the streets to walk, drive, protest or exist.
B is for behenchara, or sisterhood.
As feminists, we must attempt to understand each others' unique lived realities. Patriarchy is a system we all suffer under - some more than others, depending on class, race and ethnicity. We must acknowledge that not all women, non binary and transgender people have the same understanding of patriarchy. As we do that, we open the space up for dialogue and solidarity.
These intersections where violence and oppression are enforced should open our hearts and minds and ensure our feminism is inclusive. It should never give way to a condescending saviour complex. Instead, behenchara arises from compassion and empathy.
These intersections where violence and oppression are enforced should open our hearts and minds and ensure our feminism is inclusive. It should never give way to a condescending saviour complex. Instead, behenchara arises from compassion and empathy.
I for Insaan.
This phrase comes from Sara Shagufta's iconic poem, "Izzat naheen insaan hai aurat" and has echoed as a chant for the feminist movement for generations of Pakistani feminists. The woman and trans and nonbinary body is seen as a commodity to be owned in the patriarchal system.. and thus like any other property the patriarch likes to own, he controls it and shows it as his honour. When you start using izzat and aurat as synonyms, you also find traces of rape culture and honor-based violence. There are thousands and thousands of reports of women being killed, beaten, or otherwise hurt because their fathers, brothers, uncles, or sons deemed them dishonorable.
This phrase comes from Sara Shagufta's iconic poem, "Izzat naheen insaan hai aurat" and has echoed as a chant for the feminist movement for generations of Pakistani feminists. The woman and trans and nonbinary body is seen as a commodity to be owned in the patriarchal system.. and thus like any other property the patriarch likes to own, he controls it and shows it as his honour. When you start using izzat and aurat as synonyms, you also find traces of rape culture and honor-based violence. There are thousands and thousands of reports of women being killed, beaten, or otherwise hurt because their fathers, brothers, uncles, or sons deemed them dishonorable.
J for Jabr
Under the patriarchal system, women are tied up with inescapable chains of constant scrutiny, the policing of their bodies, unpaid and unrecognized labour, and violence - emotional, physical and sexual. Above all they are subjected to jabr or coercion throughout their life. They are forced to carry everyone's baggage without complaint, be it singlehandedly managing housework or being available to take on the weight of others' emotions (or the lack thereof). All of this translates into oppression and violence. Such is the nature of patriarchy that it subjects women, trans and non binary individuals to lifelong experiences of jabr by constricting their freedoms and giving their ownership to everyone except to themselves.
Press: Before you get all worked up about Aurat March, read what it stands for (DAWN Images)
