Guest Essay by Zari Ibbetson: Stitching Stories of Resilience
Explore Hazara embroidery through the eyes of Zari Ibbetson, our brilliant summer intern. With a deep interest in Central Asian history and culture, she was inspired to explore Afghan embroidery after visiting an exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
Zari writes how embroidery holds cultural, spiritual, and protective significance, especially for historically marginalized communities like the Hazara people. Their embroidery, often featured in religious contexts like prayer mats, serves as both artistic expression and a means of preserving their ethnic and religious identity amidst persecution.
Read on to learn more about the layered meaning behind this craft.
Melissa Cornet
Embroidery forms an essential part of urban and rural life for many Afghan women: from the age of seven, a girl is taught how to embroider in preparation for her dowry dress. Although this handicraft has existed since the pre-Islamic period, the art of Afghan embroidery is often forgotten about, and the region is instead portrayed by images of warfare and violence.
Women continue to stitch intricate embroidery patterns at home, passing down this meticulous craft to their daughters, a symbol of hope for the future of this traditional craft.
During the pre-Islamic period, embroidery in Afghanistan began to develop. As the Mughal Empire extended its influence into Afghanistan from the 16th until the 18th century, their techniques and styles such as zardozi, an intricate type of embroidery using golden thread, became integrated into Afghan traditions. A wooden frame, or adda, is used to stretch the fabric, making it easier to apply this type of embroidery. The process is highly ornate craft and requires skilled artisans to produce the detailed and elaborate patterns characteristic of zardozi.
'Chadri', silk and metal thread embroidery, c.1920, possibly Herat, Afghanistan, V&A Museum
Another stitch featured in Afghan embroidery is khamak, originating from Kandahar. This stitch is usually sewn onto a plain blue or white coloured material, but there are variations in colours worn by women. Different colours are worn for practicality – brown or beige coloured chadoris are often worn in dusty, arid environments, making them suitable for everyday use.
A range of colours feature across Afghanistan’s embroidery, and the process of creating these vivid pigments has evolved over the course of history. In the past, natural dyes sourced from plants and flowers were used to create these colours, from indigo, saffron and turmeric. However synthetic dyes became more popular during the 19th century, and are currently used to colour embroidery materials across Afghanistan. They provide Afghan craftspeople with a wider range of colours that are easier to use, and most importantly they preserve better than natural dyes because they are less susceptible to fading from age and sunlight exposure.
The type of thread used for embroidery are usually crafted from silk, cotton and wool. Silk is traditionally produced in Herat in purple, red, green and black. During ancient times, silkworms were bred at home, and men would spin the fine thread for their wives to embroider into the fabric. Silk was produced to the north of Kabul but unfortunately the majority of mulberry trees, a key food source for silkworms, were destroyed during the conflict from 2001 to 2021.
Embroidered material across Afghanistan has a range of uses that are not limited to veils for women, but also are used for decorating homes, for example as a sofreh (tablecloth), pillows, blankets sewn using traditional styles such as suzani or surma dani bags, embellished with fine stitchwork to carry their kohl eyeliner. Embroidery has a functionality, playing a symbolic role in defining gender roles in the home by showcasing a woman’s skill, and domestic expertise. In this way, embroidery is tied to notions of femininity and social status.
The Hazaras are an ethnic group, who previously resided in the Hazarajat (or Hazarestan), in the central highlands of Afghanistan. They speak a dialect of Dari, called Hazaragi. Historically, they have faced marginalisation and discrimination because they are Shia Muslims, whilst the majority of Afghanistan is Sunni. Hazaras still represent the third largest ethnic group in the country: embroidery acts not only as a decorative craft, but also as an important tool in preserving the Hazara identity.
Pictured below demonstrates the embroidery of the Hazara people is also imbued with a religious and cultural importance: the three hands are talismanic (protective) symbols across Islamic cultures, appearing also on prayer mats/carpets from Iran and the wider Persianate cultural world, sometimes in the places where the hands would touch the carpet when praying. The square area near the top is reserved for the mohr (prayer stone). Their intricate embroidery is infused with spiritual and protective powers, the words mobarak bashad are delicately sewn into the prayer mat.
Circa 20th century Hazara embroidery, thought to be used as either a prayer mat or a mohr posh.
This colourfully embroidered hat is featured in the V&A’s Hazara display. Headwear almost carries a status symbol in Afghan society, providing a key indication of ethnic, religious or cultural identity. Hazara embroidery often features khanjar-dozi , this diamond-like stitch is often seen in men’s clothing or typically is sewn into the borders of material.
Hat, embroidered, c.1960, Afghanistan.
In a region where the Hazara people have faced centuries of marginalisation and persecution, this intricate art form has become a canvas for storytelling and resilience.
The Hazara Embroidery display is on view at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London until July 2025.
