Bloom From Within Print

In 2022 the Taliban ordered that Afghan women cover themselves from head to toe, suggesting that the burqa was the preferred garment. Afghan women are now banned from receiving an education, public spaces and holding most jobs. Most recently, beauty salons, a form of income and independence for female entrepreneurs, and a retreat for women to socialize and get beautified are now banned. Although these woman are forced to cover themselves completely, and are forbidden from going to beauty salons to touch up their physical looks, there is so much strength, resilience, and inner beauty within each of these women and underneath the covering. I painted this piece in honor of these resilient women who are enduring so much oppression and to signify that their intelligence, strength, and beauty is still growing despite all of the restrictions thrown at them. We may see a burqa on the outside, but underneath is a divine and powerful woman.