PESHAWAR: Hina Shinwari, a young artist, has sought a proper platform for tribal girls to explore their latent and play a positive role in the society.
In a chat with this scribe, she said that tribal girls, if provided with space, could do wonders.
“They have great talent,” she said, adding that she would soon market her art online to motivate others in the field to do so.
Hailing from Landi Kotal subdivision of Khyber tribal district, Hina Shinwari is a student of final year at art and design department of Home Economics College, University of Peshawar. She being recipient of several awards for her art pieces is expert on mixed media and has an ambitious plan for future to market her art.
Ms Shinwari’s family shifted to Peshawar over three decades ago but didn’t lose ties with her village and family summer trips would provide a peep insight into the lives of tribal women. She, being at fourth tier among her seven siblings, two of them being into medical field, saw a tough turf ahead to compete but ended up with falling in love with myriad of colours and canvases.
“It is here that I found my inner soul. One day while surfing through diaries of my dad, I suddenly bummed onto pencil sketches and queer drawings. Got interested, my instant demand for colourful pencils and a tripod stand was met and it set my way through future career,” she recalled.
The artist regretted that most people took for granted that ‘home economics’ was something limited to home. She said that it was a misnomer as it offered much more to the young women.
“It is not all about stitching and cooking only. Rather it is about nutrition and fashion design-- two big worlds. Tribal women have intrinsic expertise in both. They require a special space to exhibit their talent,” she said.
Published in Dawn, April 8th, 2019
