By Sharanya Gopinathan
Pranjali Dubey (@kalmuhi) is an illustrator from Ahmedabad, who’s clearly made it her business to reclaim negative labels and smash the patriarchy. Her Instagram page, @kalmuhi, is a sight for sore eyes.
In an interview with The Quint, Dubey describes a “kalmuhi” as a woman who breaks the rules and goes against society’s norms, moving away from the negative associations with the word, or perhaps, embracing them in a powerful way. Dubey says that @kalmuhi is a “space for norm-breaking women to discuss taboo topics”. The page touches on a lot of serious issues, from the Supreme Court’s recent right to privacy ruling that trashed the judgement that kept section 377 on the books, to body image, menstrual taboos and sexual freedom.
She also riffs on things happening in the news, like this image from early June, around the time a Rajasthan High Court judges set off the “peacock tears” and “peacock sex” debacle.
Many of the images are accompanied by long captions and poetry. And they’re all pretty damn badass.
Check out her work on Instagram here.