Pakistani Women’s Miniature Art Exhibition in Hawaii

“A Thousand and One Days: The Art of Pakistani Women Miniaturists” features 51 contemporary paintings by eight women artists who hail from Pakistan, where for centuries, women have been subservient to men. Another common theme centers around the image of the chaddar, the veil Islamic women use to cover themselves. Artist Shehrbano Qizilbash says she paints the chaddar white because the color represents for her “purity, loyalty, hope and dignity.” For her, the chaddar “is a covering on the women’s body, her mind, heart, eyes, even her soul and spirit.” The women represented in the exhibit live across the globe; some reside in Pakistan, while others live in Melbourne and New York City.