Afghan Woman Seeks Change Through Street Art

 

Thirty-year-old Shamsia Hassani is widely recognized as Afghanistan’s first, if not only, female¹ graffiti artist. Being a graffiti artist anywhere in the world presents difficulties². In war-affected Kabul, such artists face special problems.

Hassani, however, was recently able to share her work with a broader audience. She was invited to show her work at a street art celebration³ in the Turkish city of Istanbul. She spent three days creating a large painting on a city wall. It shows a usual subject of Hassani’s work: a young woman dressed in cool clothes, playing an instrument.

The woman’s eyes are closed and she does not have a mouth. Hassani says those qualities represent⁴ the difficulties faced by women in Afghanistan.

“She can use musical instrument to talk with people, to speak louder and make more attention. And as she has no mouth, but this musical instrument gives her power to speak in society. Her eyes are closed because usually, she has nothing good around herself to see, and she doesn't want to see anything around, and sometimes she cannot see her future. But it doesn't mean that she cannot see.”

Welcome respite⁵ in Istanbul

The chance to attend the Istanbul event is welcomed, Hassani says, given the increasingly⁶ difficult environment in Afghanistan.

“I’m really scared of public spaces. I’m really scared from explosions⁷ happening all the time...and I feel usually very hopeless because there are a lot of bad things happening around me and I cannot change anything. And specifically⁸, it’s difficult for women to do graffiti and street art because usually, people are not happy with women’s activity.”

So, she says, she continues with her street art to help empower people in her country.

A supportive family

Hassani was born in Iran to Afghan parents who had fled⁹ the war at home. She says could not study art in Iran because she was Afghan. Her parents moved back to Kabul so Hassani could study art at Kabul University, where she now teaches.

“My family is very supportive, my parents and my husband, they always support me in my works¹⁰. All the time I am careful,” she says with a nervous laugh.

A rare¹¹ treat

Shamsia Hassani says that in Kabul she generally has only a few hours to complete her work because of the dangers.

“I usually work in Kabul, but usually on the small walls, not the big walls, because I cannot finish them. I need to just run away as soon as I can.”

In Istanbul she had three days to complete her painting, a rare treat.

It is not only the risk of bombs and hostility¹² toward¹³ women artists, that Hassani faces. Artistic¹⁴ differences with the owners of the walls upon which she paints also can be a problem.

“I am trying to get permission, but sometimes it’s difficult. Usually the owner of the wall never gives me permission to paint something — fantasy¹⁵ like this,” Hassani said, pointing to her painting.

Love, power of art

When asked what keeps her going, Hassani says it is her love of art and the power it has for good. She says she brings art to people in Afghanistan because there are no art museums.

She adds, "I think that I can change people’s minds with my artwork and sharing my ideas with people, that’s the thing I really like to do.”

I’m Caty Weaver¹⁶.

Words in This Story

graffiti -- n. pictures or words painted or drawn¹⁷ on a wall, building, etc.

audience -- n.? a group of people who gather together to listen to something (such as a concert) or watch something (such as a movie or play): the people who attend a performance?

society -- n.? people in general thought of as living together in organized communities with shared laws, traditions, and values?

fantasy -- n.? something that is produced by the imagination : an idea about doing something that is far removed from normal reality

1 female   

adj.雌的，女(性)的；n.雌性的动物，女子

参考例句：

• We only employ female workers.我们只雇用女工。
• The animal in the picture was a female elephant.照片上的动物是头母象。

2 difficulties   

n.困难( difficulty的名词复数 )；难度；难事；麻烦

参考例句：

• I am acutely aware of the difficulties we face. 我十分清楚我们面临的困难。
• the difficulties of English syntax 英语句法的难点

3 celebration   

n.庆祝，庆祝会；典礼

参考例句：

• The celebration passed off successfully.庆祝活动圆满结束。
• The celebration of Christmas is a custom.庆祝圣诞节是一种习俗。

4 represent   

vt.表现，表示；描绘，讲述；代表，象征；回忆；再赠送，再上演；vi.提出异议

参考例句：

• I'll represent to him the risk he is running.我要向他指出他所面临的险境。
• We selected her to represent us.我们选她作为我们的代表。

5 respite   

n.休息，中止，暂缓

参考例句：

• She was interrogated without respite for twenty-four hours.她被不间断地审问了二十四小时。
• Devaluation would only give the economy a brief respite.贬值只能让经济得到暂时的缓解。

6 increasingly   

adv.逐渐地，日益地，逐渐增加地

参考例句：

• Rivers are being increasingly made use of by man. 河流正在日益为人类所利用。
• I find it increasingly difficult to live within my income.我发现靠收入过日子越来越难了。

7 explosions   

爆炸( explosion的名词复数 )； 爆发； 激增； （感情，尤指愤怒的）突然爆发

参考例句：

• Soon afterwards five explosions were heard from the area. 此后不久从那个地方传来五次爆炸声。
• They were monitoring the upper air to collect evidence of atomic explosions. 他们正在检测高空空气以收集原子爆炸的证据。

8 specifically   

adv.明确地，具体地；特别地，特意

参考例句：

• The book was written specifically for children.这本书是特地为儿童编写的。
• I told you specifically not to do that.我明确地告诉你不要那样做。

9 fled   

v.逃走，逃掉( flee的过去式和过去分词 )；逃离，逃避

参考例句：

• The robbers fled empty-handed. 抢劫犯一无所获地逃走了。
• He had fled from France at the time of the persecution. 他在大迫害时期逃离了法国。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。

11 rare   

adj.稀罕的，罕有的，珍贵的，稀薄的，半熟的，非常的；adv.非常

参考例句：

• It is rare to see a man over 160 years old.很少见到一个人能活到160岁。
• The zoo has a lot of rare animals in it.这个动物园有许多珍奇的动物。

12 hostility   

n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争

参考例句：

• There is open hostility between the two leaders.两位领导人表现出公开的敌意。
• His hostility to your plan is well known.他对你的计划所持的敌意是众所周知的。

13 toward   

prep.对于，关于，接近，将近，向，朝

参考例句：

• Suddenly I saw a tall figure approaching toward the policeman.突然间我看到一个高大的身影朝警察靠近。
• Upon seeing her,I smiled and ran toward her. 看到她我笑了，并跑了过去。

14 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

15 fantasy   

n.幻想，白日梦

参考例句：

• Your husband is living in a world of fantasy.你丈夫正生活在一个虚幻世界。
• The whole story is a fantasy.整个故事只是一个虚构。

16 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

17 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。