The Dupatta

As part of my self-directed research on Desi Diasporic design, my research stemmed towards Desi women and their struggles with human rights. According to The National Institutes Of Health, our women have one of the highest cases of mental health disorders due to societal patriarchal systems that do not favor them, a common issue we have in our countries. I decided to contextually use the dupatta (a scarf our women often wear), into a piece of empowering printed clothing statement, using a similar approach to woodblock printing in our South Asian textile printing but using Lino instead. The words read “Desi women are stronger together”, with images of the culture we bring to our homes, and flag symbols of our respective countries in South Asia. This was a project to bring South Asian women together by empowering them and raising awareness.