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‘What we’re doing is not evil’: meet the Instagram models of Kashmir
- Mired in conflict, the scene of a decades-long insurgency and deeply religious and conservative, the Kashmir valley is not obviously fertile ground for internet influencers
- Yet against the odds – and usually against their family’s wishes too – some women are using the social network to pursue their modelling careers, come what may
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The Kashmir valley has been mired in conflict for more than three decades, the prize in a tug of war between India and Pakistan, and the scene of a long-running armed insurgency. Bouts of deadly violence and street protests against Indian rule are common.
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Away from the fighting, Kashmir is known as being a religiously conservative place, where some 97 per cent of residents are Muslim and family life is paramount.
It may seem like one of the last places where aspiring Instagram models would be found. But over the past five years the number of women professionally modelling on the social media network has blossomed, growing to about 30. What’s more, in addition to generating their own income, their modelling has been instrumental in generating business for local clothing brands, cosmetics firms, make-up artists, and even artisans such as needleworkers.
The game-changer for these women was the internet, and they have learned to take criticism and even hatred in their stride.
These women come from a variety of backgrounds and classes, some are students and some are businesswomen. All are bent on making it big in life.
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Among them is Mehwish Siddiqui, 27, an engineering graduate, who prefers to be known as a “fashion entrepreneur, rather than a fashion model”.
Siddiqui has been running one of the most well-known bridal brands in the valley for more than half a decade now. She began modelling her own clothes for the simple reason that at the time she could not find any models.
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