ArrowArtboardCreated with Sketch.Title ChevronTitle ChevronIcon FacebookIcon LinkedinIcon Mail ContactPath LayerIcon MailPositive ArrowIcon Print
Arts

Kashmiri women use art to resist India's tightening laws

From painting to traditional poetry, they fight against New Delhi's takeover

A portrait of a young Kashmiri girl in traditional attire by artist Hina Arif. Hina started to make paintings of Kashmiri architecture and people to help preserve the local culture, which she believes the central government is trying to wipe out. (Safina Nabi) 

INDIAN ADMINISTERED KASHMIR -- When the central Indian government stripped the region of Jammu and Kashmir of its autonomy in August 2019 and imposed a communications blackout, the people of Kashmir wanted to fight back. Now, female Kashmiri artists are using their pens, poems and brushes to resist.

Last autumn, Hina Arif, 28, who lives in central Kashmir's Srinagar area, started to make paintings of Kashmir's old architecture and people in traditional attire because she believes that the central government has been bent on wiping out Kashmir's culture over decades.

Sponsored Content

About Sponsored Content This content was commissioned by Nikkei's Global Business Bureau.

Nikkei Asian Review, now known as Nikkei Asia, will be the voice of the Asian Century.

Celebrate our next chapter
Free access for everyone - Sep. 30

Find out more