Graffiti to fight against
injustice
Shamsia Hassani
Interdisciplinary work between English and Art
An Afghan graffiti artist
Shamsia Hassani was born in
1988 in Teheran, Irán.
Those people who had Afghan
roots couldn’t study Art in Iran. It
was prohibited.
Her family decided to move to Iran and Afghanistan are
Kabul, Afghanistán.
neighbouring countries
Her beginnings:
She studied Traditional Art at Kabul University. Then she became a teacher at that
university. She teaches Sculpture. In 2010 she did a course about graffiti with
Chu, a British artist. The course was organised by Combat Communications.
After that workshop she started doing graffiti on the walls of her city. She
popularised Urban Art. She prefers graffiti over other techniques because spray
paint is the cheapest material.
Through her art she wants to fight against the oppression of women in her culture.
These are some of her artworks:
After paying close attention to her artwork we can
conclude that...
The characters she mostly draws are Muslim _____________.
They are wearing long _____________ and a headscarf called “hijab”.
In the majority of photos they are _____________ instruments.
These instruments are generally _____________ and ______________ .
The predominant colours are ____________, ___________, ___________ and
___________.
Let’s match the halves of sentences:
1) These women are… a- away, defending their rights.
2) They feel the… b- through music.
3) They can’t… c- oppression of the city.
4) They try to express… d- on their bodies and actions.
5) The eyes of their society are… f- speak for themselves.
6) They are thinking, running g- alone or lonely.
What’s the difference between
these two terms?
Why do Muslim women wear a hijab?
Ever since young women have their first menstruation, they have to start wearing
the hijab when they are in front of men who do not belong to their own family. That
is why they always wear it when they are outside their houses. It represents
modesty and privacy for their culture but it can also be a barrier for women to
leave the domestic sphere and have an active public role.
True or false:
1) Little girls wear the hijab. __
2) Teenage girls wear it from their first period. __
3) They wear it when the men in their family are around. __
4) In the Muslim culture men have a more active role in society than women.__
5) Women find social barriers to develop as active citizens. __
Here Shamsia is
sharing a clear
message on a
cardboard sign.
Do you agree with
her?
Vanesa Polastri
