A reason to smile: Nigar

In Pakistan, we often make the mistake of thinking that the phenomenon of women breaking stereotypes and conquering uncharted terrain is a recent one.

Nigar is Pakistan’s first female cartoonist. She started her illustrious career with a bold decision – in 1967, she switched out of a pre-med degree to study fine arts. As a result, she was drawing comics when no teachers or coursework in this artistic format were available. The situation was so dire at the time that when Nigar came to work at the Karachi Arts Council, she found little to occupy her. It was then that Ali Imam, then director of the council, made her draw one cartoon a day to keep her busy. She has never looked back from that experience.

With a fondness in her voice, Nigar narrates how she got her first break, drawing cartoons for the Sun newspaper. Her character, Gogi, an urban Pakistani woman struggling with her frailties in the context of gender-discriminate social norms was such a hit that soon the Morning News, Dawn, The Mirror, and the Daily News began featuring her work.
After publishing countless cartoons for various publications and nine comic books and receiving many national and international accolades, Nigar still inspires many budding artists who feel limited by their choices in an environment that does not support creativity.