Portraying Afghanistan

Shamsia Hassani is probably the first female graffiti artist in Afghanistan.

25-year-old Shamsia Hassani is probably the first female graffiti artist in Afghanistan.

She draws mostly on walls which were destroyed during the civil war.

She starts painting...  women wearing burqas, shouting for their rights... but nobody is listening.

“I want to show the problems facing women. During the civil war, most people were heavily restricted, especially women. People don’t pay attention to women’s issues in our society.”

Her signature graffiti is of women wearing burqas, painted in blue – her favourite color.

In Afghanistan graffiti is legal. And Shamini chooses public walls so more people can enjoy her work without having to go to an art gallery.

“If we draw something on the wall, most people are able to see it. That’s better. That’s why I work as a graffiti artist. I also want to make these walls more colourful after they were destroyed during the civil war. I want to erase the memory of the war on the walls and I think painting graffiti is a good way.”

Shamsia’s family are originally from Kandahar. They fled to Iran because of the civil war.

They returned to Afghanistan 8 years ago so Shamsia could continue her education in Fine Art at Kabul University.

Shamsia is now an associate professor of sculpture at the university.

Professor Rahraw Omarzad is the founding director of the Center for Contemporary Arts in Afghanistan.

He says graffiti can have a great impact on society, especially as most of the population are still illiterate.

“The impact of graffiti depends on how it’s being introduced to the public. If it truly shows the real demands of society, people will like and support it. Graffiti is an important way to complain, and to criticize against injustice and the social problems that Afghans are facing.”

24-year-old university student Yahya Ansari passes one of Shamsia’s pictures. It shows a woman covered with lots of hands... calling out for freedom.

“Graffiti is new in our city. I think it’s good because it exposes everyone to the issues facing our soceity. But the problem is, most of the common people don’t understand the message. In fact, when I first saw this graffiti, I didn’t understand what it was about.”

Shamsia was introduced to graffiti three years ago when a British artist held a course in street art in Kabul. Now she holds her own graffiti workshops in Afghanistan and abroad.

She has received more than 30 awards for her excellence in graffiti.

She still goes out to draw on walls in Kabul every now and then... but sometimes she worries about her security...

“I don’t feel safe in the streets... bombs could explode anytime, anywhere,” she says.

And there’s another reason.

“Sometimes people disturb me while I’m painting. They don’t like to see girls on the streets doing art. But I want to continue this. Every new profession faces this kind of problem at the beginning.”

But she vows to continue spraying walls with her ideas.

“I want to relive women’s existence in society through graffiti... I want to show the modern version of women, who are strong and capable of doing things. I want to show the positive aspects because they have a greater impact on the public.”