The late Pakistani social media sensation, Qandeel Baloch, a victim of honour violence, is the inspiration for this absurdist art project. Honour is not something that can be quantified and the way in which it is applied to women is absurd. You carry around this card which says you are honorable and any time you feel you are not, you just recharge it. The four words used in the project, reputation, infamy, shamelessness, and sin are words that were used in the days after her murder. Their Urdu translations are on the cards as that is the language she spoke.
The project comprises cards, and an illustrated morality booklet. Qandeel Baloch was also the subject of a screenprinted series called Shameless (I’m Not What People Say I am), which paid tribute to her.
The Honour Project Instagram page
©2020, Shazia Ahmad, all rights reserved.
Shazia Ahmad