Loud and proud: Kashmir's female rappers

DW (English)

Female rappers are up against it in Kashmir's male-dominated society. But Iqra Nisar and Anam Nasir remain undeterred. Defying both obstacles and hostility, they have become role models for many in the region.

Transcript

00:00 In the picture-perfect Badgam district of Indian-administered Kashmir, most people have never heard of rap,

00:07 let alone of a woman doing it.

00:09 Anam Nasir, who goes by the name of Annie, is 19 years old and a local rap artist.

00:16 She's had to learn the skill from scratch.

00:19 Her interest was first piqued by TV shows.

00:27 "I was writing, then I took some YouTube tutorials on rapping.

00:31 What's a verse, what's a chorus, what are triplets, what are bars, it took me time to understand it all."

00:38 She burst onto the scene in 2020 as a pop rapper and soon gained popularity among young online audiences.

00:48 However, her success came alongside challenges.

00:55 "When I told my parents about rapping, they flatly refused to allow me to do it.

00:59 They said this isn't something that girls go into. What will society say?"

01:05 Undeterred, Annie writes songs that take aim at the very same society.

01:14 "These kids ask me, 'Son, do you rap?'

01:17 These kids ask me, 'Who's clapping for you?'

01:19 Yet I'm ahead of them, they quack.

01:22 They start with my pen, they go on to stab me."

01:25 She has been subjected to serious trolling and has received death threats in response to her work.

01:33 "They troll me because I'm from Kashmir.

01:38 They troll me because I am a girl.

01:39 They troll me because I'm a rapper.

01:41 Girls are trolled everywhere, even if they're not rappers.

01:44 When a man works till late, people say, 'What a hardworking man.'

01:48 But when a woman does the same, they say she has a bad character.

01:53 If she has to work at night, what kind of work is it?"

01:56 A few miles toward India's de facto border with Pakistan

02:04 is Ikra Nisar's home in the district of Baramulla.

02:08 Ikra Nisar, who goes by the stage name Young Illa, is only 17.

02:12 Despite her young age, she has already experienced a great deal of conflict

02:18 in one of the world's most heavily militarized zones.

02:22 "In 2016, a militant called Burhan Vani was killed by Indian security forces.

02:34 When I heard about what happened to him, I decided to write.

02:37 A lot was going on in Kashmir at the time, and I expressed that.

02:41 I didn't write anything wrong about anyone, just the truth about my brothers."

02:45 Young Illa sings about the Kashmiri people's long-standing desire for freedom.

02:54 "I have been freed from Kashmir, I am not free.

02:56 I am a free man.

02:58 I used to spend a lot of money on freedom.

03:01 But now, all the fake things have become real.

03:03 Greed has killed me.

03:04 I am a child of one.

03:06 Why do we kill each other?

03:07 We are all thirsty for blood."

03:10 Although Ikra has received warnings, she continues to rap about human rights atrocities,

03:17 crackdowns and curfews in the rest of the region.

03:21 Many people, particularly in this conservative, Muslim-dominated area,

03:26 consider rapper Annie's style of music to be un-Islamic.

03:30 "I don't think rapping is a good thing for girls to be doing.

03:35 This isn't appropriate in Islam."

03:45 In 2022, a young female TikTok blogger was killed by suspected radical Islamists

03:52 in the same district.

03:53 "I can't sleep at night.

03:55 It buzzes in my ears.

03:57 They say, 'Leave this rap and focus on your religion.'

04:00 If you're presenting art and they say you're doing something wrong,

04:03 they're being hypocritical because they listen to music themselves.

04:06 If you have such a huge problem, don't listen to our songs.

04:09 We're not forcing you to stalk us or listen to our music.

04:12 They want to troll.

04:14 They want to stalk and they also want to see."

04:16 Iqra also learned her craft alone.

04:22 Her mother is her loyal cheerleader.

04:30 "Her father is against it, but because I go with her, he has to agree.

04:36 He doesn't like her rapping.

04:40 He agrees to it because of me.

04:44 I don't listen.

04:45 I say, 'She has talent.

04:47 Let her go out.'

04:48 Because these days, there's no difference between boys and girls.

05:01 Kashmiri society thinks it's OK for a boy to go out, but a girl should sit at home.

05:12 But girls and boys are equals.

05:14 Iqra always has my support and she will always have my support till I die.

05:28 Then after that, it's her destiny."

05:30 Annie and young Ila have travelled from their hometowns to Srinagar,

05:40 the capital of Indian-administered Kashmir.

05:43 They're attending an underground gathering of Kashmiri rappers.

05:47 In the male-dominated rap arena and fighting a number of challenges stacked against them,

06:02 Anna and Iqra are breaking one glass ceiling at a time.

06:06 And before long, others will follow.

06:08 [MUSIC PLAYING]

06:12 (upbeat music)

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