Sassy And Classy – 22 y.o. Instagram Artist Wasfa Kamal Bashes Societal Stereotypes With Her Art!

Posted: July 21, 2020

We love 22-year-old Wasfa Kamal, a digital artist, who is currently smashing societal stereotypes with her brilliant, sassy and sarcastic art on Instagram!

‘Log kya kahenge?’ ‘Shaadi kab karogi?’ ‘You are too skinny, too fat, too dark!’ these are some comments that women hear almost daily. It’s not new for our society to blame women for everything and poke their nose in whatever a lady does. All because our society just cannot let a woman live her life peacefully.

Driven from her experiences and those of women around her, 22-year-old Wasfa Kamal is giving back answers to the society in her own sassy artistic way!

Art drawn from personal experience

22-year-old Wasfa is a film making student, who has studied graphic designing. Although she started her Instagram page with a passion for photography, the recent Black Lives Matter movement inspired her to shift her focus back to digital illustration and contribute to bringing a change.

‘I was just scrolling through the Facebook and saw how much the color of a person matters in this world. Even in our desi society, ‘ladki/ladke ka rang kaala nahi hona chahiye,’ being the most common. So my first post was about “Apki soch kaali hai, mai nahi” which became pretty viral around the social media’ said Wasfa about how she came back to digital art.

Through her art, Wasfa speaks out what plenty of women want to say to the society. Her art is a way of expressing her opinion and her stand on critical issues.

A different approach to spread women empowerment

From people not minding their own business to mohalle wali aunties asking ‘Shadi kab karogi?’ Wasfa’s illustrations are a sassy response to all of the questions desi women are regularly asked.

Describing her inspiration to make women-centric content to battle sexism Wasfa said, “Getting ideas or thoughts is a process undertaken by our mind based on what we feel and experience in our lives. The amount of taunts women face in our society about colour, weight, marriage and whatnot are beyond limits. Keeping that in mind, I just want to convey my message in decent appropriate words and visuals to present my idea.”

At a point we have all wondered why are people so bothered about what goes on in someone else’s life. Especially in a woman’s life. Really, why is the society so bothered with what a woman wears? With where she goes? And when she will marry!

Wasfa takes all these and channels her energy into making these into sassy illustrations. That is precisely what makes her art so relatable.

The Desi Touch

From nose pins to jhumkas, Wasfa’s art has that sassy desi touch to them which is one of the reasons it resonates with everyone.

“Recently my artwork on ‘ladke rote nahi hain’ went viral on social media. I think, the reason was that no-one ever spoke about that issue. All our lives, we have heard ‘boys don’t cry.’ But if my art raises awareness about any problem in our society, I will not stop.’ said Wasfa while talking about the response she gets for her art.

Wasfa’s illustrations have a unique quality of relatability. They talk about issues that women face due to sexism and patriarchy in our society. She believes art can change the world if used properly. Hence, she chooses it as a medium to make content that speaks to the people.

“I think art is a form of communication. You communicate through your art to the people around the globe. It can be music, illustrations, or story as it has the power to change even on the ground level,” she said.

Wasfa’s art is receiving a lot of fame all over the globe. Her artwork has received lots of love and appreciation, though she still receives some negative comments. The fact that she is contributing to bringing about a change helps her continue doing what she does the best.

“I think I will be continuing in making digital art which will influence people of our society.’ said Wasfa.

You can check her artwork here

Picture credits – Wasfa Kamal’s Instagram

Liked this post?

Register at Women's Web to get our weekly mailer and never miss out on our events, contests & best reads! Or - get a couple of really cool reads on your phone every day - click here to join our Telegram channel.

Women's Web is an open platform that publishes a diversity of views. Individual posts do not necessarily represent the platform's views and opinions at all times. If you have a complementary or differing point of view, sign up and start sharing your views too!