This paper critically evaluates contemporary documentary photographs of Kashmir, taken by Kashmiri women photographers and circulated on digital platforms. I demonstrate how these platforms have been transformative in creating new avenues for Kashmiri women—long marginalised in the photographic field— to circulate their work. I also show how digital platforms foster the emergence of vernacular photographic practices within traditional genres like photojournalism and documentary photography. These practices complicate conventional understanding of conflict representation, moving beyond explicit moments of protest to encompass the everyday experiences of Kashmiri women photographers. Ultimately, I argue that these photographic narratives offer a nuanced perspective on life in a conflict zone like Kashmir, while reconfiguring the relationship between documenting practices and political forms of contestation.
Pitt Rivers Museum Research Seminar in Visual, Material and Museum Anthropology, Michaelmas Term 2024
Fridays, 12pm-1.30pm (Weeks 1-8)
In person at the Pitt Rivers Museum Lecture Theatre, except for Week 3, which will be in 64 Banbury Road.
Weeks 5-8 will also be on Teams at this link.
Convened by Chihab El Khachab and Charlotte Linton
