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Masaawi Haqooq

Lala Rukh Pakistani
1983–84
Not on view
During a time of severe Islamization under the military dictatorship of General Zia Ul Haq in 1980s Pakistan, which fostered an increasingly oppressive environment for women, Lala Rukh involved herself with the women’s movement, co-founding the Women’s Action Forum (WAF) and commencing a life-long commitment to political activism. Rukh was proactively involved in the Forum’s activities when local printers controlled by the government in Lahore refused to print their protest materials and newsletters. Rukh began screen printing, designing and producing many of the WAF’s provocative posters that called for the equal rights and freedom of women. Masaawi Haqooq hails from this group of posters. The image on the poster depicts a woman in a burqa who is shackled speaking directly to the position of women and repressive laws they were subjected to under Haq’s government.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Masaawi Haqooq
  • Artist: Lala Rukh (Pakistani, Lahore 1948–2017 Lahore)
  • Date: 1983–84
  • Medium: Lithograph
  • Dimensions: 28 1/8 × 19 1/4 in. (68.6 × 48.3 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: Gift of the Estate of Lala Rukh, 2019
  • Object Number: 2019.403.3
  • Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

More Artwork

More Artwork
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RUPAK, Lala Rukh Pakistani, Animation, 6 minutes, 12 seconds
RUPAK
Lala Rukh
2016
1st Poster with Jinnah's speech, Lala Rukh Pakistani, Screenprint
1st Poster with Jinnah's speech
Lala Rukh
1982
The Unholy Trinity, Lala Rukh Pakistani, Lithograph
The Unholy Trinity
Lala Rukh
1991
In our own Backyard, Lala Rukh Pakistani, Screenprint with electrostatic printed text
In our own Backyard
Lala Rukh
1987
Ek Aurat, Ek Gawahi, Lala Rukh Pakistani, Lithograph
Ek Aurat, Ek Gawahi
Lala Rukh
1983

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