Shamsia hassani artwork for bathrooms

After the Taliban took over Afghanistan, many of the country's citizens are uncertain of how it will affect their lives and safety.

But to an outsider like me, it can be difficult to make sense of it and fully understand what these people are going through. So I have to turn to someone who can explain.

Shamsia Hassani, a painter who has taught at Kabul University, is considered Afghanistan's first female street artist. Whether she's working on a canvas or the wall of an abandoned bombed building, Hassani's works not only portray the role of women in a male-dominated society but also provide a glimpse into the battle between light and darkness that has enslaved the place she calls home.

More info: shamsiahassani.net | Instagram

Meet Shamsia Hassani, a painter who has taught at Kabul University and is considered Afghanistan's first female street artist

She got into it in 2010 after going to a graffiti workshop led by UK artist CHU

Since then, Hassani has developed a unique style and painted her trademark character -- a woman with her eyes shut and no mouth -- all over the country

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Shamsia Hassani was born to Afghan parents in Iran in 1988. She has had to endure hardships from the very start of her life. “Since Iran has no law through which you can be an Iranian national, I stayed Afghan after birth," the artist told Bored Panda. “I still remember that Afghans were not allowed to work in Iran just because of their nationality. Afghans were told that they don’t have the government’s permission to find a job, so my parents were facing a lot of difficulties. But I was young and didn’t understand."

Eventually, her life took Shamsia back to Afghanistan. There, in 2010, she attended a graffiti workshop that was held in Kabul by Combat Communications and it has taken her on a path she still follows a decade later. “I attended the workshop with 9 colleagues

What is shamsia hassani known for

Shamsia Hassani is a 28-year-old painter and graffiti artist who ventures into the streets of Afghanistan to create murals. Armed with cans of spray paint, Shamsia uses the walls of abandoned buildings damaged from bombs as her canvases. Shamsia creates vibrant murals and paintings portraying women as strong. Her murals and graffiti often depict women in traditional clothing joyfully posing with musical instruments. Coming from a background where women are usually overlooked, Hassani believes painting women in public can encourage other people to look at women differently.

In an interview with Creators Project, the Mural Artist described her journey, the power of graffiti art and portrays why women are strong!
Currently teaching Fine Arts at Kabul University, Shamsia Hassani received her bachelor’s degree in Arts in 2010 and a master’s degree in Visual Arts in 2014 from Kabul University. She co-founded Berang Art Organization with the aim of promoting contemporary art and culture in Afghanistan through workshops, seminars, programs and exhibitions.

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Follow Shamsia Hassani’s brave work on her Website and on Instagram.

Image and Content credit: LA Times, Thaxton and Creators Project.

When was shamsia hassani born

Shamsia Hassani Is Fighting The Patriarchy One Graffiti At A Time

She makes vibrant murals and paintings, depicting women as strong, independent figures. Her art has changed the usual depiction of Afghan women, discarding the Western paternalist gaze who portrays them as the passive victims of violent eastern men - a trope oh so sadly overused in Western narratives. Shamsia empowers women in a male dominated society and paints them as human beings who are proud, loud, and can bring positive changes in people’s lives.⁠
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Shamsia has motivated hundreds of Afghans to bring out their creativity through her graffiti festival, art classes and exhibitions all around the world. It was a very important step after decades of Taliban rule, who notoriously blocked out all forms of public art, and forced women to stay indoors.⁠
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Now, as art and women are threatened once again, Shamsia is still painting, but with a broken heart. ⁠She recently spoke up on how some of her paintings in Kabul have been erased by the Talibans:

‘In the recent years I was complaining that people destroy/remove my graffitis. I was thinking that time is needed for people to get educated and then they will have a better understanding of Art. I never imagined that our world will suddenly fall and we will never get to the day that I was waiting for.’

25 heartbreaking works of art by Afghanistan's first female graffiti artist

Amid the half-collapsed and bullet-riddled walls in Kabul's alleyways, one might unexpectedly come across paintings of a burqa-clad woman with her eyes shut and no mouth. She's the creation of Shamsia Hassani, widely known as the first female graffiti artist of Afghanistan. Born in 1988 to Afghan parents in Tehran, Iran, Hassani eventually moved to Kabul to pursue her bachelor's and master's degrees in visual art. Although her artistic career began with contemporary art, she found her true calling after a 2010 graffiti workshop by Combat Communications, an anonymous group dedicated to promoting free expression among Afghan youth. The experience opened up a world of possibilities for Hassani and she has since painted the walls of Kabul with thought-provoking and inspiring murals of Afghan women.

"Since Iran has no law through which you can be an Iranian national, I stayed Afghan after birth," Hassani told Bored Panda. "I still remember that Afghans were not allowed to work in Iran just because of their nationality. Afghans were told that they don’t have the government's permission to find a job, so my parents were facing a lot of difficulties. But I was young and didn’t understand." Speaking of the workshop organized by Combat Communications, she said: "I attended the workshop with 9 colleagues from Berang. Combat Communications invited CHU, a graffiti artist from the UK to lead the event."

"CHU's lectures included theory, practical work, and presentations of different artists from around the world," the artist added. "There, we learned graffiti for the first time. As the workshop continued, we learned about spray techniques and how to paint large-scale drawings on the wall. I really liked it and thought it has a lot of uses. I believed that graffiti can be a tool through which I will change the war-torn walls of my city into colorful paintings. The colors wo