Illustrating #WomenPower

Interpreting womanhood and female empowerment their own way, these artists are celebrating the female form through a medley of riveting visual treats.

- Humra Afroz Khan

Neha Kapil

“As diasporic women, raised outside of our mother countries, our views on culture are often complex. My goal is to assure brown women that our voices matter, which is why I choose to empower through storytelling. In a society that, unfortunately, is still quite patriarchal, it’s important to remind each other of real life historical figures that fought against the norms and inspired through their actions. Growing up, I always found it strange that the stories of our people particularly placed an emphasis on ‘men fighting epic battles’. This led me to ask: what about our women? Female-driven stories are rarely known, and incredibly difficult to find information on. My attempt is to contribute to South Asian ‘herstory’. It’s crucial for brown girls to be raised with powerful imagery of women. When the information about the female figure or the Goddess becomes difficult to source, I sometimes resort to creating my own world of women that represent everything I hope for future generations— unapologetic, fierce and confident, not taking no for an answer. At the core of my work, it is important for our voices to be heard, to get people to care, to look at our stories and understand that the female perspective shouldn’t be overlooked.”

Jezreel Nathan