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BBC
Malina Suliman's "crime" was to paint the walls of Kandahar with the graffiti of a skeleton wearing a burka and the depiction of an ordinary Afghan entangled between an American tie knotted to a turban worn by the Taliban.
She defied the Taliban for as long as she could.
But when the threats became frequent and after her father's leg was broken in an attack, she had to flee her home town a couple of months ago and take refuge in Mumbai.
'Un-Islamic art'
Her sculptures outraged conservative Muslims and the Taliban.
They declared that her work amounted to idol worshipping and therefore was anti-Islamic and warned her to stop immediately.
"During my confinement at home I was overwhelmed with a lot of feelings. I realised there might be other girls facing the same problems as me. To paint at home would not have served any purpose. I wanted to send a message to the girls in my situation to have no fear and to express themselves in public."
In sharp contrast, the sprawling campus of Mumbai's famous JJ School of Fine of Arts is a welcome creative hub for the young Afghan fugitive.
She works on her metal work artistry making a laptop-size key.
"Key is a recurring theme of my art. It opens the doors to success as well as the mental block of people."
In the school's large workshop, Ms Suliman appears calm and peaceful, but beneath the surface is hidden a deep-seated worry, "I don't know what my future holds. I am struggling to break free both from inside home and outside."
Ms Suliman says she would like to stay in Mumbai. "When I see boys and girls working together as a team here I feel elated. We need that kind of freedom in Afghanistan."
Malina Suliman's "crime" was to paint the walls of Kandahar with the graffiti of a skeleton wearing a burka and the depiction of an ordinary Afghan entangled between an American tie knotted to a turban worn by the Taliban.
She defied the Taliban for as long as she could.
But when the threats became frequent and after her father's leg was broken in an attack, she had to flee her home town a couple of months ago and take refuge in Mumbai.
'Un-Islamic art'
Her sculptures outraged conservative Muslims and the Taliban.
They declared that her work amounted to idol worshipping and therefore was anti-Islamic and warned her to stop immediately.
"During my confinement at home I was overwhelmed with a lot of feelings. I realised there might be other girls facing the same problems as me. To paint at home would not have served any purpose. I wanted to send a message to the girls in my situation to have no fear and to express themselves in public."
In sharp contrast, the sprawling campus of Mumbai's famous JJ School of Fine of Arts is a welcome creative hub for the young Afghan fugitive.
She works on her metal work artistry making a laptop-size key.
"Key is a recurring theme of my art. It opens the doors to success as well as the mental block of people."
In the school's large workshop, Ms Suliman appears calm and peaceful, but beneath the surface is hidden a deep-seated worry, "I don't know what my future holds. I am struggling to break free both from inside home and outside."
Ms Suliman says she would like to stay in Mumbai. "When I see boys and girls working together as a team here I feel elated. We need that kind of freedom in Afghanistan."
