Betwa Sharma

Betwa Sharma is the New York/United Nations correspondent for the Press Trust of India and an AOL News Contributor. Her freelance work has appeared in several outlets including The Huffington Post, The Global Post, Time.com, Indian Express, Hindustan Times and Columbia Journalism Review.

articles/2010/10/15/portrayals-of-violence-in-middle-eastern-art/sharma-violence-in-muslim-art_133121_weazr8

The Art of Violence

As violence sweeps the Muslim world, artists in Pakistan and Jordan respond to their changing worlds. Betwa Sharma on the beauty within strife.

Betwa Sharma

articles/2010/09/03/nude-art-mag-riles-middle-eaast/sharma-jasad-mag_grioto

Nude Art Mag Riles Middle East

When the eighth issue of Jasad—a Beirut-based cutting edge art magazine--rolls out next month, it will be the face of criticism and denouncement throughout the Middle East. Betwa Sharma on why the publication continues to succeed.

Betwa Sharma

Suicide Bombers in Love

Young Iranian artist Arien Valizadeh re-imagines modern terrorists through the prism of ‘50s pulp comic romances. VIEW OUR GALLERY.

Betwa Sharma

The Rise of Islamo-Erotica

Ignoring the prohibition of nudity, Muslim artists—many of them women—are now defying religious tenets by painting naked models in pinup poses. VIEW OUR GALLERY.

Betwa Sharma

Islam's Sex Licenses

Temporary "pleasure marriages" offer unwed Muslims a way around the Islamic rule against premarital sex. Betwa Sharma talks to one young American Shiite who's on his 25th "I do."

Betwa Sharma