“Throughout the Istri Series, I carve smoothing irons from wood and transform them into vessels for miniature paintings. The word istri itself carries a dual meaning: in Urdu it refers to a smoothing iron, while in Hindi it also means woman or wife. That linguistic overlap allows an ordinary domestic object to become a metaphor for the invisible labor, expectations, and social roles that continue to shape women's lives.

In The First Page, the iron holds an open notebook. One page is crowded with women whose identities merge beneath blue burqas, while two young girls quietly look beyond them. The facing page remains largely blank except for a handwritten promise: that one day the story of a life will be written in its own words.

The unwritten page becomes a space of possibility. It asks who has the freedom to imagine, to question, to learn, and to choose. Rather than dwelling solely on restriction, the work speaks of beginnings—the first page of an education, the first page of self-authorship, and the first page of change.

The deep red stained iron reminds us that domestic objects carry histories of care, labor, and expectation. Yet here, instead of smoothing fabric, it holds the possibility of a future still waiting to be written.” 

-Humaira Abid