Brushstrokes against silence

In a city more accustomed to political rallies than painted protest, a group of Lahore students used canvases instead of slogans to confront child marriage, violence against women and children, forced labour, and denied rights — transforming an exhibition hall into a sobering mirror of Pakistan’s social realities.

An art exhibition titled ‘The Quiet Curriculum of Justice’ opened in Lahore in connection with the establishment of the Shaista Ikramullah Human Rights Education Centre, bringing together young voices determined to spotlight injustices often normalised, ignored, or quietly endured across vulnerable communities.

Through the artworks, students explored gender equality, child rights, accountability and access to justice, portraying forced marriages of underage girls, domestic abuse, educational deprivation and relentless social pressure with an emotional clarity that statistics alone rarely achieve.

Several works underlined a stark contradiction: while legal protections exist on paper, women and children continue to face daily barriers, threats and discrimination. The artists illustrated how laws falter when social attitudes and weak implementation leave victims exposed.

In the gender equality section, artworks traced the uneasy tension between girls’ education and early marriage. Student Maryam Ishtiaq said child marriage restricts both identity and opportunity, adding that her piece reflects the silent pressure many girls absorb long before they understand their rights.

Neha Nasir echoed that sentiment, explaining that domestic and societal expectations often overpower girls’ personal choices. Her artwork, she said, was meant to expose this imbalance, where ambition is routinely sacrificed at the altar of tradition.

The child rights segment confronted early labour, household burdens and exposure to violence. Rabia Imran said when children are pushed into work instead of classrooms, their futures are compromised, noting that her artwork captures this harsh reality without romanticising survival.

Mohind Amjad highlighted how natural disasters and economic hardship intensify children’s vulnerability, using visual symbolism to show how crises compound inequality, pushing already fragile lives further towards exploitation and invisibility.

Under themes of accountability and justice, students examined institutional failures, class disparities and the silence surrounding abuse. Participants observed that despite constitutional guarantees, discrimination persists in everyday life, sustained by social complicity and bureaucratic inertia.

Organisers said the exhibition aims to spark meaningful dialogue on sensitive issues through young perspectives, stressing that human rights challenges extend far beyond legislation. Here, art becomes evidence — and a quiet demand — that society finally listens.