Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Asian reporter. (Portland, Or.) 1991-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 6, 2020)
ASIA / PACIFIC Page 16 n THE ASIAN REPORTER January 6, 2020 A tattoo at a time, Afghan woman takes on society’s taboos By Tameem Akhgar The Associated Press ABUL, Afghanistan — A female tattoo artist, a rarity in ultra- conservative Afghanistan, is taking a big risk with every customer she takes on. It’s been 18 months since Suraya Shaheedi started her mobile tattoo shop in the capital of Kabul. She’s received death threats for taking on the taboo of the ink-on-skin drawings she does — as well as being a single woman willing to work with men. “I have struggled a lot, even been threatened with death, because people in Afghanistan think doing tattoos is haram,” she said, using the Arabic word meaning prohibited by religion. “Whether my customers are men or women doesn’t matter to me. I do tattoos for both,” says Shaheedi, a 26-year-old, divorced single mother. In a black curtained room, surrounded by his friends, a young customer shrieks in pain as the needle pierces and inks his skin. “I can’t leave the profession I love,” Shaheedi adds. She easily gets customers, whether men or women, as social attitudes toward tattoos loosen up and more ink parlors open. It’s the kind of small, but important change that Shaheedi feels a return of Taliban rule could threaten. After decades of war, Afghans want peace. A big concern for many like Shaheedi is that U.S.-led peace talks with the Taliban will boost the militant group. “I am happy if the Taliban return results in peace, but if they disagree with my work and impede the freedom and progress of women, then I will be the first to stand against them,” she vowed. Women like Shaheedi have carved out a space for themselves in a society where custom heavily restricts women’s roles and K PORTLAND’S LEADER IN NATURAL BURIAL & AQUA CREMATION education. Close to 40% of Afghanistan’s eligible girls are not allowed by their families to go to school, and almost 20% are forced by their families to leave school after grade six, according to a survey by the Asia Foundation released last year. In areas under the Taliban, who now control or hold sway over roughly half of the country, women are not allowed to leave their homes without a male escort. The insurgent group ruled Afghanistan with a harsh version of Islamic law from 1996 to 2001, when the U.S. invaded. Shaheedi divorced her husband eight years ago while she was pregnant. She and her son now live with her parents. Her father supports her work, even though Afghanistan’s patriarchal society often forbids a woman from touching a man to whom she is not related or married. Her parents and elder brother persuaded her to become a tattoo artist, Shaheedi said, after she got her first tattoo while visiting Turkey — an arrow piercing the image of an eye on her right hand, which she says symbolizes overcoming adversity. Shaheedi’s father, Hussain, 58, believes We just contracted with 2 new customers. We are in need of these languages: the strict customs controlling women in Afghanistan need to change. “I support my daughter in every way, and she makes me proud the way she’s stood against this taboo,” he said. Shaheedi uses Instagram and other social media to find and meet customers. She prefers not to keep a parlor with a fixed address out of concerns for her safety. She also does manicures and makeup. When she met one customer recently at a hair salon, the customer’s husband recog- nized her from her social-media pages as being the tattoo artist “Ahoo,” the nickname she uses online. The husband threatened to kill Shaheedi if she kept posting images of her tattoo work on social media. Tattoos were common in some of Afghanistan’s rural areas, especially among Pashtun and Hazara women, but the ink piercings were used sparingly, often as only a few green dots on the face. Tattoo artists say demand among the younger generation has risen for more flamboyant and personal designs, and with it, the number of ink parlors increased in the capital. PERILOUS PROFESSION. Tattoo artist Suraya Shaheedi, 26, left, tattoos a male customer in Kabul, Afghanistan. It’s been 18 months since Shaheedi started her mobile tattoo shop in the capital of Kabul. She has received death threats for taking on the taboo of the ink-on-skin drawings she does — as well as being a single woman willing to work with men. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul) Omid Noori, 23, has 16 tattoos all over his body. He wants to add another on his left arm, showing the head of a lion with a crown and wreaths. But he only wants new designs on parts of his body that his clothing can hide, because he says he’s tired of hearing people’s negative comments about the ink piercings. He also worries what would happen if Islamic militants caught him. “I’m thinking that if the Taliban return, they’ll cut off my hands and legs,” he said. He inked his last tattoos at a parlor belonging to a former Afghan army officer, Nazeer Mosawi. Mosawi, 42, fought for seven years in Afghanistan’s civil war with the Islamic insurgents. He says he is still fighting the war, but this time his battle is against society’s conservatism, with his tattoo machine as his weapon. Mosawi receives threatening phone and social-media messages almost every day, demanding he close his tattoo business. “They even threaten to beat me, burn my shop,” he said. “There is no alternative: I tell them, OK, I can’t flee this country because of these threats. It’s my homeland.” But for every threat he gets, Mousawi said he gets several messages with positive feedback or people curious to learn more. Shaheedi said she is also working to put her eight-year-old son, now in second grade, through school. She is also studying business management at a university in Kabul. “Being a woman in Afghanistan requires guts,” she said. “I am proud of myself for having the guts.” GRASS-FED BEEF FOR SALE CAMBODIAN, LAO, HMONG, MIEN, CHINESE, FILIPINO, JAPANESE, KOREAN, VIETNAMESE, ALL ASIAN, PACIFIC ISLAND. Tu Phan BE A FREELANCE INTERPRETER WITH US! Pay range is between $20 and $50 per hour. Call about refinances & purchases Offering FHA/VA/Conventional Mortgages FACE-TO-FACE INTERPRETER VIDEO INTERPRETATION Please call us for a complimentary pre-planning guide We are seeking bilingual to become an Interpreter and would like to help out their community with our on-site division in the local area. Please contact us: (503) 924-6573 * <contact@sachelanguage.com> River View Cemetery (503) 246-4251 River View Cemetery Funeral Home Medical experience is helpful but not necessary. (503) 246-6488 - 24 hours 8421 S.W. Macadam Avenue Portland, OR 97219 www.riverviewcemetery.org www.riverviewcemeteryfuneralhome.com 5)& UI ANNUAL JAPANESE NEW YEAR CELEBRATION Branch Manager, NMLS #7916 Become an online reader! Visit us at <www.asianreporter.com>! 64)&3*/5)&:&"30'5)&3"58*5) MOCHITSUKI SUNDAY • JANUARY • 11 AM–4 PM Enjoy taiko drumming, mochi-pounding, and delicious Japanese food! Fun for the whole family! ADVANCED TICKETS: $4-$10 Buy online with no service fees at www.CSPXOQBQFSUJDLFUT.com TICKETS AT THE DOOR: $5-$12 Free for children 3 years and under and seniors 88 and older PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY 7JLJOH1BWJMJPO BUUIF 1FUFS84UPUU$FOUFS 48)BMM4USFFU 1PSUMBOE 03 For more information, visit www.mochipdx.org (503) 780-6872 Call (503) 980-5900 for details GRASS-FED & GRASS-FINISHED BEEF Farm-raised in Newberg, Oregon Beef available as: q Quarter cow q Half cow q Whole cow Beef is processed by a Portland butcher. Pickup available in January at N.E. Sandy Blvd. location. <tu.phan@fairwaymc.com> <www.LoansNow.com> 12817 S.E. 93rd Ave. Clackamas, OR 97015 Copyright©2018 Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation. NMLS#2289. 4750 S. Biltmore Lane, Madison, WI 53718, 1-877-699-0353. All rights reserved. Fairway is not affiliated with any government agencies. These materials are not from HUD or FHA and were not approved by HUD or a government agency. This is not an offer to enter into an agreement. Not all customers will qualify. Information, rates and programs are subject to change without notice. All products are subject to credit and property approval. Other restrictions and limitations may apply. Equal Housing Lender.