“Sar dhak ke chalne waali nikli hain sar uthaane
Ab kya hi kar sakoge jo chahe kar zamaane
Kal haanth kaapte the, aaj kalam bolti hain
Ab kore kaagazon par hain likh rahe afsaane.”
(The girl with the headscarf sets out to hold her head high,
What can the world do to keep me down, let me see it try
My hands used to shake but now my pen speaks,
We’re now writing brave stories on blank pages)
16-YO Saniya Mistri aka Saniya MQ says that being able to rap is a luxury for her. “I have led all my life in restrictions and the fact that today I can rap and I am sitting here in front of you makes me value the term ‘freedom’.” Not having an outlet to share her true feelings, she began writing about her life and the situations she has dealt with to express herself at a very young age. Soon after she found her calling as a rapper.
In a candid conversation with Her Circle, Mistri mentions that growing up and surviving in Mumbai means a lot to her: “Coming from an underprivileged background, where I face discrimination and exclusion almost every day, the thirst to prove something and being able to make ends meet is what kept me going. When you set out to do something different, you raise a lot of eyebrows. I was fortunate enough that my mother went against the norms and supported her passion. This gave me confidence to pursue rapping as a career.”
Speaking about why her lyrics are different and unconventional, she says, “I don’t live around glitz and glamour. Where I come from, people usually look down upon us. Individuals who are supposed to guide us and educate us, don’t pay heed to us because of the way we dress and the locality we live in. They give up on us even before we give ourselves a chance. I want to change that. I want people to know that we are equally capable.”
This hijab-wearing rapper went viral and gained fame after the release of her original song, Sach. The song deals with the way the unfair education system gives too much importance to marks. Her story made headlines and has been covered by multiple publications, including the BBC and Rolling Stone. She has also been part of a reality series, Hunarbaaz.
With a smile on her face, she shares how she has been told by multiple people, even friends, that the hijab will spoil her career, and that she won’t see success if she doesn’t change her style or even her lyrics. “I respect everyone,” she says. “Everyone has an individuality that they want to bring in front of the world. Many may conform to the conventional norms but for me being true to myself is what is important.”