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.
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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)