Hira Kazmi / Pakistan

Child Abuse

After a long time of continuously following the norms of my society where child abuse and domestic violence are negative ways for men to assert their masculinity. I have finally decided to raise a voice for all those poor souls who have been, and who are, silently fighting emotional, physical, and sexual abuse in their everyday life. As a result, I have made this animation, as it is important to let everyone know that the effect of abuse on a child, in whatever form, results in serious, long-lasting trauma that they will have to deal with for the rest of their lives.

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Bio: Hira Kazmi is an internationally featured illustrator based in Pakistan. She illustrates women to give physical form from a south Asian woman’s perspective, paying particular attention to our emotional landscapes - to gestures, people and feelings left unsaid such as mental illness, social issues and women rights. Hira has had her work exhibited online on several platforms including TCC McKeon Centre for Creativity, Tulsa, USA, Rooftop art center, UK, and University of Arts, London. 

She has published her illustration in a a Book "Plague 2020" and several international magazines including Entropy, Ainmagazine and Feminism around the world. 

After a long time of continuously following the norms of my society where child abuse and domestic violence are negative ways for men to assert their masculinity. I have finally decided to raise a voice for all those poor souls who have been, and who are, silently fighting emotional, physical, and sexual abuse in their everyday life. As a result, I have made this animation, as it is important to let everyone know that the effect of abuse on a child, in whatever form, results in serious, long-lasting trauma that they will have to deal with for the rest of their lives. When I talk about violence against children, it is not my aim to indict a specific community, but instead, to speak in generalities since this issue is not restricted to a specific area or to a specific gender. This is truly a global issue, which all societies need to address, and I hope that my art will not only spread awareness about child abuse, but also lead to concrete preventative action. I have made these real life illustrations to make you aware of all the physical and emotion pain these kids are enduring. I want the people of my society to accept that freedom of thoughts and speech, as well as freedom from violence is the right of every individual. If we cannot guarantee these two things, then even our homes will not be a safe place for children to live.

 
For me, art has always been a medium to express my thoughts, and as a result, I think it is the strongest medium to spread awareness of, and to portray this issue to my society. These illustrations show that children want adults to recognize the immense difficulties they are facing in today’s modern world, as well as that they need help to deal with the issues and problems that arise out of them