Shepherds of Kashmir: Mobility, Memory and Survival
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A Bakarwal from the Pakistani part of Kashmir shares stories about his community’s way of life, history, and identity, while also reflecting on how modern issues like territorial conflict, commercialization, and climate change are making life harder for this nomadic pastoral group from the region of Jammu and Kashmir.
About the Speakers:
- Zafeer Butt is a multidisciplinary Kashmiri visual artist & filmmaker. He has a bachelor’s degree in film and television from the National College of Arts, Lahore (Pakistan). He has made short films, documentaries, video art, music videos, and theatre plays, representing the state of Kashmir at various international festivals in the United States, China, and India. His film ‘LOUG-THE PEOPLE’ has gotten special recognition in over six countries. He conducts workshops on screenwriting, film acting, and film direction.
- Sidra Khawaja is a Kashmiri interdisciplinary artist-designer, researcher, and educator whose practice interlaces material culture, food systems, and collective memory to explore questions of belonging, ecology, and postcolonial identity. Her work inhabits the intersection of design, craft, and anthropology, using participatory installations, archives, and sensorial encounters to cultivate cross-cultural dialogues.
- Komal Raja is a PhD in Social and Cultural Anthropology from Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Germany. Her doctoral research, titled “Negotiating Autonomy in Azad Jammu and Kashmir: Politicisation of Identity and Everyday Life,” explores how political identities are shaped in the region. Originally from Hajira, Poonch (Pakistan-administered Kashmir), she writes poetry in Pahari and prose in Urdu and English. Her literary work has been published across Pakistan, India, Indian-administered Kashmir, Pakistani-administered Kashmir, and the United Kingdom. Beyond scholarship, Komal is an active performer and a founding member of cultural and educational initiatives in Germany that build bridges between South Asia and Germany through art, literature, and anthropology.
This session is free and open to all. Just visit the venue to attend it.
The Black Hole
Plot 5H, Street 100, G-11/3, Islamabad.
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