Husnaa Kathrada and Tasneem share with us their creative projects.
Husnaa Kathrada is the name.
I grew up in the Middle East and have been exposed to different cultures over the past 16 years. As a 19-year-old back in South Africa, I believe that society has changed a lot from when I left in 2004. We are living in a time where the world is growing at a rapid rate.
This artwork, which was done for my grade 11 final art exam, briefly represents the idea that the development of technology is affecting the freedom of women across the world. We use and sometimes abuse technology. We have access to unlimited amounts of resources at our fingertips but unfortunately due to such ease, we tend to use it incorrectly. As a result, freedom of speech on social media has given people the opportunity to voice their opinions.
Artwork by Husnaa Kathrada
I think over the past few years women have been feeling attacked, both emotionally and physically, due to society’s expectations of us. Having certain body types which are labeled as ‘perfect’, the likes of models and influencers sets the bar of what women should look like in order to be considered ‘pretty'. On the other hand, society categorizes other types of body shapes and sizes outside of what ‘beautiful’ women are supposed to look like.
Automatically, I think we start to look down on ourselves and become so insecure with our bodies that we see these ‘perfect bodied' women as the only type of achievable beauty. This continuous cycle of self-hate forces women to compare themselves against other women, making them feel ashamed of the natural state of their own bodies.
It is so simple to edit out acne or trim a waist to look smaller. What I think this does is make women and men believe that ‘perfect’ is an achievable state of being. ‘Natural beauty’ becomes attributed to photoshopped photographs. People of different races and cultures have different features, and this should not be edited or surgically corrected to fit a mainstream, Eurocentric standard of beauty.
I think this is where issues arise between women who feel that they can form an opinion about each other. This results in women tearing each other down in order to lift their self-image up. Therefore, social media dictates who and what is the perfect woman by the number of likes or followers she has, leaving women at a point where we feel like if we speak out to the world and talk about things of more value than physical appearance it comes across as attention-seeking. Unfortunately, this is what women are lead to believe. However, by changing the way people think, I believe change can be achieved and women can begin to love themselves and confidently present themselves without feeling ashamed of who they are.
I am someone who has quite a small figure and I am very short. At times I also attack myself for my height and wish I was as tall as the models I see on Instagram. It is because of society that I feel this way. I have become socialized to tell myself that being taller is more beautiful. But I do not want social media to dictate the way I think and feel about myself.
DON’T let social media and society’s expectations destroy your ability to find beauty within yourself. It is easy to say yes, but we must slowly learn to love ourselves. As long as we are happy with ourselves, another’s the opinion of us should never matter.
Hi, my name is Tasneem.
I am a full-time civil engineering student at Wits University. I dabble in many different hobbies that allow me to creatively express myself in different mediums and forms.
At the same time, my hobbies ground me as the person I am and often I integrate my values, opinions, and other thoughts or feelings that I align into my art.
This is a portrait series of women in and around my life photographed by me.
The idea behind it is not only to showcase the subject matter but to also evoke the feeling of women empowerment through the imagery.
I want to recreate the style of watercolor artworks, as well as the experiences these women were facing that hide beneath the surface of who they are when these photos were taken.
The series sheds light on our strength as women because being a woman is a lot to carry.
Comments