THE ART OF INVISIBILITY
eShe|March 2021
Academy and Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Haya Fatima Iqbal is using her camera to highlight untold stories and unseen perspectives
THE ART OF INVISIBILITY

For someone who has won global acclaim as an Acad-emy and two-time Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker, Haya Fatima Iqbal has in fact perfected the art of invisibility. Her documentaries, sometimes shot in Pakistan’s most backward areas or most conservative communities, require her to blend into her surroundings physically and psychologically. She does this by earning the subjects’ trust, sharing their lives, understanding their challenges and their motivations, and by being respectful of their culture. She may also do this in a more symbolic way: by wearing a dupatta over her head.

“Coming from Karachi, armed with a camera, I appear like a big-city girl to them, a ‘madam’ coming from a position of privilege,” says the 34-year-old co-founder of Documentary Association of Pakistan (DAP), “so the dupatta signifies that I’m from a similar value system, and that I’m not an outsider.” It also has other advantages: as most shoots are done in the blazing daylight, it shields Haya from the sun. “And since I keep my hair short, it lets people know I’m a woman,” she laughs.

This story is from the March 2021 edition of eShe.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the March 2021 edition of eShe.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM ESHEView All
God On The Tip Of Our Tongues
eShe

God On The Tip Of Our Tongues

The pandemic has normalised spiritual discourse and religious references

time-read
3 mins  |
July - August 2021
A NEW APPROACH
eShe

A NEW APPROACH

Malayalam film actor and Oxford graduate Santhy Balachandran used her anthropology background to conceptualise an avantgarde music video

time-read
3 mins  |
July - August 2021
LOOKING OUT FOR THE BIRDS
eShe

LOOKING OUT FOR THE BIRDS

Bird steward Karen Mason on why she wants to save the birds on Florida’s coasts and her viral photo of a bird feeding her chick

time-read
4 mins  |
July - August 2021
SORAYA CHEMALY: RIGHTS AND RAGE
eShe

SORAYA CHEMALY: RIGHTS AND RAGE

Washington DC-based author and feminist activist Soraya Chemaly believes women’s anger can be a powerful force for social justice

time-read
6 mins  |
July - August 2021
A MYSTERY IN HISTORY
eShe

A MYSTERY IN HISTORY

We review two novels set in the 20th century with fabulous, flawed female protagonists out to investigate strange goings-on

time-read
4 mins  |
July - August 2021
A MOM'S LIFE
eShe

A MOM'S LIFE

Photographer Debalina Bhatta’s photo feature following her mother’s daily routine is an ode to mothers everywhere

time-read
3 mins  |
July - August 2021
THE RAGA OF LIFE
eShe

THE RAGA OF LIFE

Mahesvari Autar’s events platform showcases Indian classical music and mantras to audiences in Holland

time-read
3 mins  |
July - August 2021
WOMEN FIRST
eShe

WOMEN FIRST

Michigan-based artist and entrepreneur Svitlana Martynjuk is determined to facilitate fair representation of women in the global art scene

time-read
4 mins  |
July - August 2021
UNLOCKING CREATIVITY
eShe

UNLOCKING CREATIVITY

If the Covid pandemic affected each part of our lives, can art be far behind? Two young Indian painters Aditi Purwar and Shivangi Kalra take us through the ups and downs of their artistic journeys through the pandemic and how it has shaped their personal and creative vision

time-read
5 mins  |
July - August 2021
WORKPLACE WELLNESS
eShe

WORKPLACE WELLNESS

Management consultant Seema Rekha on why employee mental health is vital for company growth and why women make better leaders

time-read
4 mins  |
July - August 2021