Pushpa Kumari draws on the iconography of Mithila wall paintings to create her own interpretations of traditional stories and historical events, and to reflect on issues facing many women in regional communities in India. Saving the girl child contains scenes of abundance and Mother Nature – which are often used in Mithila painting to celebrate marriages and union – to protest against the death of female babies who are often regarded as a burden to their parents in parts of India, in contrast to sons, whose births are often celebrated.

Dowry comments on the dowry system, officially illegal, but still very common in India. Dowries can include goods, cash, property or other items that the bride’s family agrees to give to the groom and his relatives as a condition of the marriage. Tragically, dowry deaths occur as a result of this system, when young women are either murdered or driven to suicide by the harassment and torture of their in-laws in an effort to extort an increased dowry.