Women Break Barriers Painting Election Graffiti in Kerala

While robots and flex boards increasingly dominate election campaigns in India, a small group of women in Kerala is keeping traditional wall painting alive with their own hands and brushes.

Jishi Mol J.R. teaches arts and crafts by day, but during election season, she transforms into a graffiti artist. This year alone, she's completed nearly 100 wall paintings for Kerala's Assembly elections, working through the oppressive summer heat to bring color and creativity to her community.

A diploma holder in fine arts and a two-time Kalathilakam winner at Keralotsavam, Jishi Mol rarely encounters other women doing this work. Men have dominated election wall painting for generations, but she's proving women can excel at it too.

What makes her work special isn't just breaking gender barriers. Jishi Mol adds creative touches through unique colors, fonts, and effects that technology can't replicate. Each wall tells a story through her artistic choices, making the graffiti eye-catching and memorable in ways a printed flex board never could.

She's also helping preserve traditional skills by hiring older male artists who struggle to find work outside election season. Their hands may shake with age, she says, but their work remains remarkably precise.

Smitha Shajith from Kollam is another woman making her mark in this field. She usually paints election graffiti alongside her brother, but this year had to skip the Assembly elections for an exciting reason: participating in her first Kochi Biennale art exhibition with her husband.

Why This Inspires

These women aren't just painting walls. They're preserving a traditional art form that's disappearing as digital advertising takes over. Between elections, traditional wall painting artists struggle to find work, making their craft increasingly rare.

By entering this male-dominated field, Jishi Mol and Smitha are also quietly challenging assumptions about what women can do. They're not making grand statements or seeking attention for breaking barriers. They're simply doing work they love and doing it well, proving through action that skill and creativity matter more than gender.

Their dedication to handcrafted work in an increasingly digital world reminds us that human creativity adds something special that machines can't duplicate. Every brushstroke carries the artist's personality and vision, making each graffiti piece unique.

These artists show us that progress doesn't always mean replacing the old with the new. Sometimes it means keeping valuable traditions alive while opening doors for everyone to participate.