REFÎF ÎSLÎM

Gaza- Gazan women have carried out many activities to draw attention to gender-based violence. The UN Women’s Agora Forum has organized a traveling photography exhibition to tell the stories of women, who were subjected to violence, abuse, and rape in Palestine. “Our aim is to raise awareness about gender-based violence,” the forum’s member Shaima Hamad told us.

The project of the traveling photography exhibition is “innovation for gender issues”. Expressing that there is a need for constant innovation to keep the campaign on the agenda of women, Shaima Hamad informed that a team consisting of 30 people has worked within the scope of the project to raise awareness about gender-based violence. “We decided to organize a traveling photography exhibition to tell stories of the victims of femicide and violence in cities and villages of Palestine,” she said.

Stating that collecting the stories of women was very difficult for them, Shaima Hamad said they collected the stories with the help of Hadeel Abboud, the project coordinator at the UN Women. “While collecting the stories, we listened to many women, who were subjected to many forms of violence. It wasn’t easy for us to listen to the stories. The exhibition includes white clothes symbolizing marriage. Some photos show how women are deprived of their economic rights.”

“Women should struggle”

“The aim of the exhibition is to create a sense of justice in people as well as raise awareness. Women should speak out and struggle when they face injustices,” she said.