Through Her Lens: Gendered Spaces and Cinematic Witnessing in the Mourning Rituals of Muharram in Kashmir

Abstract

This paper explores the intersection of embodied witnessing, gendered access, and the act of filming Muharram rituals in Kashmir, reflecting on the experience of a female ethnographer navigating sacred, male-dominated ritual spaces. Drawing on the author’s doctoral fieldwork, the essay situates the lens of the camera not merely as a recording tool, but as a performative device that both challenged and bypassed patriarchal religious restrictions. In Kashmir, Muharram is not only a commemoration of historical martyrdom but a living tradition of grief, dissent, and political resistance. As a non-muslim woman, entering spaces such as the intimate Majhilis or participating in Eigth Muharram juloos (processions) often invites scrutiny and exclusion. However, wielding a camera transformed the author’s presence—allowing access into masculinized domains of ritual and war zones, where the female body alone might not be permitted.

The camera becomes a prosthetic extension of the female body, a tool of negotiation and disruption. Through autoethnographic accounts of participating in Ashura processions, filming maatam(mourning), and engaging with rituals across Zadibal, Budgam, and Hassanabad areas of Kashmir, the author reflects on how digital witnessing produced new forms of visibility and testimonies. These ritual choreographies, infused with affect and resistance, unfold not just as religious expression but as performative resistance to political erasure. Integrating feminist ethnography, screendance studies, and affect theory, this paper posits that the camera functions as both witness and weapon, intervening in the politics of gender, gaze, and grief. The paper also analyses the interplay of gender and ritual through the performative modalities of maatam, nouha, and marsiya, especially as they are embodied and vocalized by Shi’a women. Ultimately, this work contributes to the discourse of Screendance by reimagining the camera as a witnessrespondent, one that not only documents but also participates in the ritual. By situating the camera within these affective zones of mourning, memory, and resistance, the paper argues for a feminist reading of Muharram that foregrounds the affective labour and spectral presence of women through a gendered lens.

Keywords: Screendance, Resistance, Gendered Ritual, Kashmir, Muharram, Camera, Witness, Embodied Filmmaking, Religious Patriarchy, Feminist Ethnography, Azaadari

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