As one explores the world that is there for them to create, give purpose to, give meaning to, to catastrophize and to embellish, one ponders, “How free can this world be?” How will this world be a portrayal of creativity and the potential that lies within? How can this world give power to the powerless, strength to the oppressed, hope to the hopeless? How will this world convey the yearning and longing to express that the voiceless have. As a young girl, I never understood why people were touched, moved, brought to tears by art. All I could see were mixtures of reds and blues, splashes of paint here and there. I saw nothing in those colors, so why did it mean so much to my grandfather, who was entranced by this painting? I know now that those colours and that “nothingness” was special. The color was free when she could not be, the color was a depiction of a reality that was so distant to me. I understand now the significance of paintings such as Freedom by Salima Hashmi that led to revolutions, to say the least.

The painting was curated in the 1980s during the most oppressive regime of Zia ul Haq. Artists like Salima Hashmi created paintings like Freedom not as products of state patronage but revolts against dictatorship.

Salima Hashmi was one of the inspirational women that depicted the oppressiveness of the regime but also the extent of gender discrimination and intersectionality during this time. A painting that grasped my interest from the very first glance was Freedom.

To me, this painting is most intricate, speaking volumes of injustice and discrimination. It points out that women were most impacted by the rigidity of martial law and conservative policies. The issues surrounding women in this picture are portrayed as three-fold. First, they were silenced. The painting depicts their mouths were covered and their voices were stolen from them, belittling their existence. Second, they were entrapped. The cubes surrounding the three women act as a cage, reflective of how marginalized women were during that period and how it was considered impossible for women to move across the rungs of the social ladder. It’s noteworthy that this painting depicts cages and traps despite the fact that it is called Freedom. Third, they were violated. Women in Pakistan and around the world have been survivors of domestic abuse and harassment but the depiction of red in the background portrays how violence against women has always been a lingering and unaddressed issue.

I know, I know now why my grandfather’s eyes filled with tears looking at these spills of colour. I know now because I recognize, I admire and respect the struggle of women like Salima Hashmi, who fought for my right to be able to express myself. I know now that these smears of color were so powerful that they were erased and kept hidden from the eyes of those who dared to view them, because they were calls for freedom when freedom was a utopian dream.