WOMEN CAPTURE WOMEN: A PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBITION BY VASA
An online photography exhibition hosted on VASA, features four female photographers who focus the spotlight to women’s issues
The professional areas of football, boxing, dancing and political protest are all still seen as ‘male’ regions of activity. Yet women have successfully entered these arenas of machismo, sanctioned as ‘males only’ spaces. These are protected as sections of ‘male privilege’, whether it is at childhood, adolescence or adulthood by the patriarchal system that we live in, especially in economically struggling, third-world countries.
Challenging gender inequity is a VASA exhibition of four female photographers that addresses the issue of gender equality: Paromita Chatterjee, Richa Bhavanam, Ruhani Kaur, and Uzma Mohsin. Gender in this sense is a social construct not a biological determinant. All four photographers are well-known in the sea of male colleagues. Their work is published in India and is in demand internationally.
“Through this exhibition titled A Diminishing Line I’ve put together visual stories by four women photographers, who have documented the struggle of women from various strata of life in India. These are a few success stories of these handful of individuals who gathered immense strength and courage to fight, break out, and create a change within their lives in a strongly conventional patriarchal society,” says photographer Sandeep Biswas who has curated the exhibition.
Women in India have had a substantial role in the growth of Indian economy. Despite a lack of access to capital, they have proved to be more efficient and have a higher level of performance, which categorizes them as ‘low risk and high return’, creating a positive impact on the Indian economy as well as social responsibility. Despite this data, the formal participation of women as a work force in India remains low.
Uzma Mohsin’s Fellowship of the Ring focuses on unusual women and an unusual sport—Boxing! The women come from different backgrounds – rural, urban, middle class, lower middle class – and the sport they have chosen to pursue is boxing, forming a unique ‘fellowship of the ring’. “Storming a male bastion – particularly this bastion – isn’t easy, and for many of the women featured in this series and many others who aren’t here, the battle lines are very clearly drawn,” to quote Mohsin.
Since 2001 when boxing was introduced in India women boxers have given India many world champions and every year Indian women boxers win an armful of medals at international events. There are an estimated thousand women boxers in India, a number as astonishing as what the sport has achieved in a short time.
Ruhani Kaur documents the protests at night of women in relation to the CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) Issue. “Every movement has a moment of romanticism, and it was that moment for this movement – when women came out on the streets. This has never happened in the history of Jamia. Every time there are political discussions in the central canteen, there are only 1-2 women; mostly it is boys. But it is when you see women outnumbering the men, that is when the romantic movement happens,” Safoora said.
The reason women are taking to the streets, she feels, is because the country has done great injustice to its women. “I feel this country has failed its women in so many things that women have lost faith in men. I mean, as a woman, I don’t feel I think (that) men are capable of running this country anymore,” adds Safoora.
Another photographer looks into the Yakshagana dancing tradition of Karnataka, that was previously performed only by males, but now women have begun to represent it.
I traveled to Coastal Karnataka, the home of Yakshagana, to photograph and learn about changing gender representation in Yakshagana, a celestial dance form.
“I was curious to see the form that this young practice is taking, as women are participating as equals in this performing art space that solely belongs to men for hundreds of years,” says the Bhavanam.
“We don’t remain ourselves; we completely drown in the character we are playing,” says Sai Suma, a Yakshagana artist, who often plays male roles. “The more we perform, the more Yakshagana changes our personalities—our voice becomes louder, our walk more masculine—people say why are you walking like that. But it is all part of extending our act to our lives” says Suma. Many women have embraced Yakshagana for the sense of physical freedom that it has allowed them to experience.
Football is a very popular game in Bengal. However, it is perceived as a very masculine game. “I started working with an NGO a year ago who were opening football camps across Bengal to empower the girl child from marginalized sections of the society. School dropouts, child marriage, domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, are a few in a long list of issues a girl faces in an underprivileged environment. These football camps intend to break that image,” says Chatterjee.
Women in sports, even today, face various physiological, psychological, social, cultural, religious, family constraints. “Such constraints prevent them either from staying involved in sports or from regular training,” explains Chatterjee.
While many women have managed to overcome these challenges, much remains to be done and women are fighting for their chance to be part of spaces that help them experience freedom and empowerment. In the meanwhile, we can enjoy the online exhibition that does talk of those who have been successful in the various areas where they have been gated out of because of gender inequalities.
Text by Georgina Maddox
Image courtesy: VASA and the featured photographers
Find more about the Exhibition, Artists and their Artworks:
http://www.vasa-project.com/gallery/kaur/index.php
https://www.paromitachatterjee.com/
