Project Analysis

1. What was the statistic for your piece? Describe how you visualized it.

My statistic was "50% of all the sexual assaults in the world are on girls under the age of 15." Initially, our (Maddy and I) visualization of this statistic was a girl crouched in front of a brothel, hands covering herself while in a fetal position. On the wall behind her, we pictured a graffitied wall, and silhouettes of men lurking in the shadows behind her. However, when we started to draw the project out, we opted for a standing position--it embodies a quiet strength within her which we wished to portray.

2. What reality inspired you? Describe the location, the culture, and reality you included in your work.

Upon browsing youtube to find out more about Girl Rising, I came across the movie segment of Amina, the girl from Afghanistan. In the movie, she tells her story. I was really moved by her strength and courage despite the environment she lives in. Despite all the adversity around her, she it still passionate about learning. Our girl is called Kinah (meaning strong-willed), and she, like Amina, lives in Afghanistan. Afghanistan has one of the highest unreported sexual assaults in the world. The culture and customs in this country is very particular--men have almost absolute power over women, treating women like objects rather than human beings. Using Amina as our reference, we created Kinah as our representation of our statistic.

3. What artwork inspired you? Give the exact work(s) titles. Provide a visual. Explain how you incorporated this into your piece. 

Artwork inspiration: National Geographic Cover April 2002

The National Geographic Cover inspired the drawing of our girl, Kinah. The magazine cover pictures a girl in Afghanistan during the civil war. Although her struggles were different, the girl’s haunting eyes inspired us to model Kinah after her. Kinah’s eyes will reflect courage and strong will in face of conflict and inequity. We wanted to express the power Kinah holds inside through her eyes, showing the world that even a women living under oppression still has her own thoughts.

http://muslima.imow.org/content/humanity-hope-destiny 

Noor, Maaida. “Overpowered: “Ala Bi Dhikrillah”. Painting. Muslima. Humanity, Hope, Destiny, 2012. Web. April 1, 2014.

In this picture, the girl is shown covering her eyes in a defensive and protective manner, almost as if she were shielding herself from harm. By incorporating this element into our artwork expresses the vulnerability and the amount of power the men have over women. The act of covering your eyes is something that is associated with fear, an emotion that will most definitely be felt by a young girl being sexually assaulted.

http://www.american.edu/uploads/standard/large/MES%20Oman%20HR.jpg
Middle East Studies. “Silhouettes of men at dusk”. Photograph. American University, Washington DC. Middle East Studies. Web. April 1, 2014. 

The idea of having silhouettes came after we were doing the final edits to our rough draft. The portrayal of men in the picture gives a sense of fear. Often times, after one is sexually assaulted, there are "after effects," scarring the victim forever. These silhouettes represent both the powerful presence of oppression, as well as the scarring effects sexual assaults can have.

http://www.pri.org/stories/2011-09-30/slideshow-graffiti-artists-kabul
Hassani, Shamsia. “Graffiti”. Photograph. PRI. Slideshow: Graffiti Artists of Kabul. 30 September, 2011. Web. April 1, 2014. 

The visualization of the statistic was in graffiti, which symbolized chaos and lack of a strong system. The bold colors also make it stand out more, making it more apparent to the viewer.

4. What are personal and structural influences to your statistic?

Structural:
Afghanistan is a country full of conflict, causing the government to be all over the place. As a result, laws that regulate sexual offenders are never enforced. This is a major contributor to the rising crime rate in Afghanistan. The other reason there is high unreported sexual assault cases in Afghanistan is because of their society. Afghanistan is a patriarchal society, meaning men hold more authority. This causes women to be treated as objects. In addition, their culture is really big on honor and prestige. So, if a girl is raped or sexually assaulted, honor killings may occur to keep the family name "pure." Also, women have close to no rights (they don't get to express their opinions).

Personal:
Poverty within Afghan households is one of the reasons why the "sell off" their daughters to suitors. Poor families cannot afford to have another mouth to feed, so they offer their daughters' hand in marriage in order to acquire a few extra bucks. In the case of Amina (from girl rising), the money her family earned from her marriage to her cousin was used to buy her brother a truck. Within an Afghanistan household, sons are viewed as superior to daughters, so if their income permits education, typically only the boys attend it. This then turns into a vicious cycle, where girls do not have proper education, and hence have less knowledge to stand up for themselves.

5. What are probably personal and structural solutions to your statistic?

There are many methods in which this can be solved. Structurally, a more stable government will benefit the most, because it can solve the problem from the root. A stable government can also offer better enforcement of laws regulating sexual violence that occurs within the country. Other methods to solve the problem is to aid NGO's such as Stop Violence Against Women. Such NGO's can relieve women who have been oppressed or sexually assaulted and are afraid to speak out. On a more personal level, by allowing both girls and boys to have equal education will produce a higher GDP in the long run, as well as less conflict. Educating the public about the importance of gender equity is also equally important. People have to know why equity is important.

6. Relation to prior class learning-how does the story of this girl-this statistic relate to something we’ve learned about this year?

Gender equity is a major issue in the world today. In most countries, males have an overwhelmingly large amount of power over women, causing women to be less privileged. The fact that 50% of sexual assaults are on GIRLS under the age of 15 proves that women are the ones with less authority and power. In class, we have talked about inequality and how it occurs between genders, often times relating to women being the less empowered. This project centers around the idea of a male dominant world. Also, this is linked to the concept of culture as well as culture migration (at least of our project). The religion in Afghanistan is what allows such horrific things to happen to girls without being reported. Their culture allows acs such as honor killings solely because of their belief in honor. Mindsets and cultures also shape or cause some of the statistics.