
Issue 02 | Volume 02 | Horror

Cover Art: Zahida's Anger, Sabahat Ali Wani (2022)
In addition to borrowing from/use of Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio's Medusa (1598), Zahida's Anger is an artist's attempt to highlight the horror of sexual violence in Kashmir.
First Published by Variant Literature, Issue 13 (Winter 2023).
Kashmir has its own horrors. We have heard many stories about ghosts since our childhood – stories about Abdullah jinn and Wai Wuf – remember! Maaje Zevwe has tried to capture these stories we were once told as a child and still live in the dusty old corners of our psyche. However, there are some stories that still haunt us to date. The horrors of the Gawakadal massacre and Kunan Poshpora are very much alive in our minds as ghosts that never leave us alone and accompany us everywhere. Our horrors are not limited to only what children hear while they are being put to sleep but have a history of their own.
In Issue 02, Maaje Zevwe has attempted to peek into the horrors of Kashmiri women and how they define them. How do Kashmiri women view Kashmiri horror literature and stories? How is horror portrayed in Kashmiri art, music and literature? How do they represent woman figures or characters? How are horror and feminism, horror and politics, and horror and sexuality, related? How do Kashmiri women define their ghosts and who is responsible for them?