My Red Line*
Today, I find it difficult to articulate the complexity of freedoms and inequalities stemming from gender-based systems. Over the past three weeks, as we witnessed discrimination against women, the participation of Afghan women in political, social, economic, and cultural life has been hindered. Not only were their inherent and inalienable rights violated, but also their dignity and honor as human beings. During the preparation process for an exhibition focusing on women’s rights, as I delved into readings on women’s rights classified and detailed under various topics such as politics, law, gender relations, work and employ- ment, and health, I pondered how much strength it must have taken for women to continue the political and legal battle they have been fighting for centuries. Hence, the decision to exhibit a rich crimson burka, which covers bodies, stretches from floor to ceiling, and conceals the wearer’s face behind a barred window, symbolizing the restricted and violated freedom. As a symbol of oppression, the burka is tightly juxtaposed with paintings, metaphorically conveying the passage of time through the use of several colors. The artist tirelessly presents the reality she faces to the viewer as she navigates around this symbol, which encompasses the surrounding paintings. The injustice in the world transforms from the room it inhabits to a pervasive sorrow that spreads from memory.
For Afghan women, who perceive themselves as abandoned by the whole world, today’s events represent an ideological shift where their rights are being negotiated, and they are subjected to harass- ment and discrimination. I wish for the restructur- ing of the international community, similar to the establishment of the intergovernmental organiza- tion for women’s suffrage in Berlin in 1904, to be announced today on a broader scale; this could serve as a driving force for Afghan women who have been unable to raise their voices louder since the 1920s in their struggle for rights. This exhibition is for women fighting a separate battle for existence in every geography.
For Afghan women, who perceive themselves as abandoned by the whole world, today’s events represent an ideological shift where their rights are being negotiated, and they are subjected to harass- ment and discrimination. I wish for the restructur- ing of the international community, similar to the establishment of the intergovernmental organiza- tion for women’s suffrage in Berlin in 1904, to be announced today on a broader scale; this could serve as a driving force for Afghan women who have been unable to raise their voices louder since the 1920s in their struggle for rights. This exhibition is for women fighting a separate battle for existence in every geography.
