Pakistani artist Remal Arif has put her thoughts in a series of illustrations that portray the harsh realities of women who have, for generations, been silenced by men. Eighteen year-old Remal Arif says her art is “a language that speaks about customs, traditions, power, feminism, breaking unwritten laws, and expressing the unspoken truth of our society that is often neglected”. She is spreading awareness of the injustices, barbarism, misogyny and sexism that women in South Asia are forced to deal with, often on a daily basis. A hand around a woman’s neck to indicate brutality through the act of strangulation; another woman hiding herself, her shame and her sadness behind a curtain; a third woman stifled by an unidentified hand; and a fourth with a princess crown on her head and red tape covering her mouth; they are all part of Arif’s Chup Raho series. Her characters, usually dark-haired women, are almost always in bold red lipstick, wear jewellery, and sometimes even have their heads covered in a veil. Violent elements such as female infanticide, “honour” killing, rape, domestic violence, early death, acid attacks, harassment, enforced dowry payments, and early marriage are themes she likes to work around. Themes that are common in South Asian countries like Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Arif’s art invites men to ask the women in their lives about their problems and in order to do this, she adopts an unusual creative process. Her illustrations are essentially of herself, but showing another person’s pain. She stands in front of her mirror to imagine and feel the anxiety, trauma, and sadness of another woman and takes a photograph with her mobile phone while expressing those emotions. She then uses her own picture as a reference and her imagination to illustrate the women in her work. Arif draws freehand on her low-budget cell phone, without the use of a stylus, while lying on her favourite couch at home. Earlier this month, illustrations from her Chup Raho series were exhibited at The Flying Dutchman, a venue in London that provides new and emerging artists a space to exhibit their work, especially if they are related to gender and diversity. “What will people say” is one of the most common, most fundamental problems that make sure taboos remain intact. In fact, a 2017 movie by the same name revolves around a sixteen year-old Pakistani girl, Nisha, living in Norway whose father catches her in bed with her boyfriend and subsequently orders her to marry him. When she refuses, he kidnaps her and packs her off to Pakistan to live with relatives who practically enslave her. Last week, the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) issued a statement to television channels asking them not to air controversial dramas because “they are not depicting (a) true picture of Pakistani society. Indecent scenes/ dialogues, extra marital relations, violence, inappropriate dressing, rape scenes, caressing, bed scenes, use of drugs and alcohol, intimate moments between couples are being glamourised in utter disregard to Pakistani culture and values”. PEMRA even banned the American reality TV show ‘Naked & Afraid’ that requires a man and woman to survive in the wilderness without anything, including their clothes. In 2016, social media celebrity Qandeel Baloch was killed in cold blood by her brother for being “too bold” and speaking her mind. He confessed to the crime saying, “she was bringing disrepute to our family’s honour and I could not tolerate it any further”. Published in Daily Times, January 19th 2019.