Seeing through their eyes: art, activism and empowerment

Author: Jocelyn Pederick

To mark this year's 16 Days of Activism to End Gender-Based Violence, UN Women Nepal has launched an exhibition, entitled Stories of Resistance. This multi-media and participatory arts event features artworks from women's rights activists, survivors of gender-based violence, and youth filmmakers challenging social norms.

At the centre of this exhibition is the remarkable visual arts project, 'We for Us: Walking with gender equality activists', a UN Women multimedia collaboration celebrating two remarkable women activists: Gauri Devi and Rekha Yadav.

Ashma Shrestha, communications and development officer with UN Women Nepal, explains that the idea behind ‘We for Us’, came from a desire to increase the visibility of grassroots women activists. "We wanted to raise the profile of women working on the ground and making a dent, but not necessarily getting featured in mainstream media. And so, through an exploratory process of art and storytelling, we have tried to raise the voices of the women making big differences in the lives of other women."

Gauri Devi and Rekha Yadav are both grassroots organizers and gender equality activists, sharing a commitment to making lasting changes for women in their communities.

Gauri Devi's journey as a human rights defender began after being subjected to violence in her community. This led her to the realization that she had to stand up for herself and all the single women in the community. Now an outspoken activist and highly respected member of her community Devi encourages other single women to do what they desire and to live their lives to the fullest. Devi’s work has made a positive difference to her community.

"Women in our community have been facing a lot of violence as they are more dependent on the male figure of the family. However, due to various awareness programs and training, there has been a decrease in domestic violence cases."

Rekha Yadav has established women's shelters and worked tirelessly for justice and support for women survivors. Yadav see that one of the main challenges to women in her community is the lack of meaningful participation in decision-making and leadership, which negatively impacts all aspects of women's lives.

"One of the main challenges in our community is the patriarchal suppression faced by women in all sectors,” she says. “For example, due to male domination in the judicial system, women are having problems obtaining justice. Similarly, often women can't engage in economy-generating activities, which means facing financial problems. And this leads to a rise in domestic violence in the community."

To facilitate the project, UN Women Nepal collaborated with Srijanalaya, a non-profit artists’ network established to create safe spaces of learning through the arts. Leading the project as curator was visual artist and educator Sanjeev Maharjan.

Maharjan embraced a mixed-media approach to the art project. "Art has the power to change perceptions and can also be a tool to raise a question rather than giving an answer,” he says. “There is not only one way to look at things. There are so many angles. So, I really wanted to work with a diverse group of artists, not only visual artists, because media and other formats can bring a different dimension to the stories of the woman we are working with."

Four artists were chosen across various disciplines, including film, photography, and dance. They then worked closely with the women activists, through phone calls and in person, to develop artworks responding to the brief to see through their eyes.

Maharjan explains how dignity and authenticity were essential in the approach taken by the artists. "Since this story was a real-life story, we were very aware that we should not romanticise the stories. Therefore, showing these stories with dignity and not manipulating them was an important part of this process when the artists were creating their work."

For Devi, this process was rewarding. She explains, "I feel more empowered after seeing the artwork based on me. I think all art forms can help victims be empowered. And through art, people will be able to sympathise and empathise with the art, leading them to believe they are not alone and helping them voice their struggles."

As part of the 16 Days of Activism, UN Women Nepal hopes this exhibition will empower women's rights organizations and women activists in their vital efforts to end violence against women and girls. Shrestha explains why events like the Stories of Resistance exhibition are at the heart of what the 16 Days campaign seeks to achieve.

"16 Days is a time to celebrate the achievements that women like this have made. For both women, the starting point of their activism is different but also related to their own lives. So, these stories are essential to show how activism starts and moves from personal to political to community to everyone.”

UN Women Nepal is now adapting the project to develop a discussion guide for grassroots organizers across the country. In this way Yadav and Devi's stories will continue to inspire a new generation of gender-equality activists.

Shrestha explains, "Both these women their journeys started with saying, 'No, I don't want to be like that. I want to live my life.’ So now Rekha and Gauri have travelled from their villages to Kathmandu for the exhibition, to see how their stories are making an impact, and how they have become a role model for others on the national stage."

Gauri Devi and Rekha Yadav have taken immense pride in participating in this project. Yadav hopes that her story motivates others to take up the charge of gender equality.

"I hope people will be encouraged to work in this field, and the survivors find the courage and inspiration to continue in their lives and start working for this cause," said Yadav.

For Devi, the experience of her life represented in art left her both 'happy and overwhelmed.'

"In the past, I could not talk about my struggles and abuse to anyone. However, through this art, I feel like my unsaid words were finally heard".