Art Blog #93

Protest Art - Shamsia Hassani

'Protest art is a specific genre of art that tackles social issues, sometimes witty, sometimes challenging and graphic, protest art is a powerful medium that highlights discrimination and injustice. I admire protest artists as they are using their technical skills and creativity for good.'

The situation in Afghanistan worsened in 2024 as the Taliban authorities intensified their crackdown on human rights, particularly against women and girls. Afghanistan remained the only country where girls and women were banned from secondary and university education, while also facing significant barriers to employment and freedom of movement, assembly, and speech. The Taliban also detained journalists and critics and imposed severe restrictions on the media. Afghanistan’s economic crisis left 23 million in need of humanitarian assistance; women and girls were disproportionally affected.

Extrajudicial Killings, Enforced Disappearances, and Torture

In two reports covering the first and second quarters of 2024, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) documented 98 cases in which the Taliban carried out arbitrary arrest and detentions, and 20 instances of torture and ill-treatment of former government officials or security personnel. Nine members of the former government’s security forces were killed. UNAMA also received reports that individuals who were forced to return to Afghanistan from Pakistan were also subjected to torture, mistreatment, and other forms of harm. Taliban authorities carried out corporal punishments, including public floggings of at least 147 men, 28 women, and four boys.

LGBT people in Afghanistan faced persecution and serious ill treatment that could amount to torture because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

www.hrw.org/world-report/2025/country-chapters/afghanistan

Shamsia Hassani (Quick Bio)

Born April 1988, is the first female graffiti artist of Afghanistan. Through her artworks, Shamsia portrays Afghan women in a male dominant society.

Her art gives Afghan women a different face, a face with power, ambitions, and willingness to achieve goals. The woman character used in her artworks portrays a human being who is proud, loud, and can bring positive changes to people’s lives. During the last decade of post-war era in Afghanistan, Shamsia’s works have brought in a huge wave of color and appreciation to all the women in the country.

Her artworks have inspired thousands of women around the world and has given a new hope to female Afghan artists in the country. She has motivated hundreds of Afghans to bring in their creativity through her graffiti festival, art classes, and exhibitions in different countries around the world.

www.shamsiahassani.net