India’s Incredibly Powerful “Abused Goddesses” Campaign Condemns Domestic Violence
“Save Our Sisters” is an anti-sex trafficking initiative.
Ad agency Taproot physically recreated scenes from old hand-painted images of Indian goddesses.
The combination of religious deities with the results of violence make for a powerful message in this Indian domestic violence campaign.
Featuring the Hindu goddesses Lakshmi, Durga and Saraswati, the shots show the women in typical serene yet powerful poses.
But each goddess bears the scars of physical violence – a graze, black eye, a fat lip and cuts.
The accompanying text reads: “Pray that we never see this day. Today, more than 68 per cent of women in India are victims of domestic violence. Tomorrow, it seems like no woman shall be spared. Not even the ones we pray to.”
A number is provided to report abuse to the Save Our Sisters charity – an initiative that works to prevent the trafficking of young girls and women for the purposes of sexual exploitation.
The Abused Goddesses series won a ‘Lotus‘ award for Indian ad agency Taproot in March.
As Buzzfeed points out, the campaign captures India’s most startling contradiction: that of revering women in religion and mythology, while the nation remains incredibly unsafe for its women citizens.
Last year, 244,270 crimes against women were reported in India, the BBC said – though the number of unreported incidents is thought to be much higher.
And reports of a “rape culture” have been rife since the fatal gang rape of a 23-year-old student on a bus in Delhi in December last year.
It led to human rights groups urging the government to reform sexual assault laws.
New Delhi has emerged as the ‘rape capital‘ of India, with 25% of cases across the whole of India occurring in the capital, according to an Al Jazeera report.
A woman is raped in Delhi every 14 hours, according to figures quoted by the BBC.
Makeup was used to add bruises and wounds to the models before photographing them. This is a recreation of the goddess Saraswati.
All the props were either real or painted on, keeping both authenticity and realism in mind.
“Pray that we never see this day.
Today, more than 68% of women in India are victims of domestic violence.
Tomorrow, it seems like no woman shall be spared. Not even the ones we pray to.”
NOTABLE WOMEN VIOLENCE CAMPAIGNS
Honor Blackman
Women’s Aid won an award for their domestic violence awareness campaign, which saw celebrities including Anna Friel, Fern Britton, Jemma Kidd and Honor Blackman made-over to appear as if they had been beaten.Lauren Luke
Self-taught make-up artist Lauren Luke appeared before her YouTube subscribers in July looking battered and bruised.While the bruises were fake, the video, made in collaboration with UK charity Refuge sent a clear message to women across the globe: “65 per cent of women who suffer domestic violence keep it hidden. Don’t cover it up.”
How to look your best the morning after
Share this to take a stand or visit this site for more http://bit.ly/MSP3rV
Clare Wood
In September the Home Office began piloting a Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme, known as Clare’s Law. It was so named to honour Clare Wood, who was strangled and set on fire by her ex-boyfriend.It proposes to give women “the right to know” if a partner has a history of domestic violence. The scheme came into being after campaigning to protect women from Michael Brown, the father of the murder victim.
Our dad abused us as kids for ten years … we hope our story helps others
Brave sisters pen book to help healing after calling the cops on their vile father
“Save Our Sisters” is an anti-sex trafficking initiative.
September 6, 2013 by Team Celebration
Filed Under: Contributors, FEATURED, INSPIRATIONAL VIDEO, Uncategorized, Videos, WOMEN GENDER EQUITY ISSUES, YOUTH of ACTION™ Tagged With: anti-sex trafficking initiative, Campaign Condemns Domestic Violence, domestic abuse, Indian domestic violence, Save Our Sisters charity, sexual exploitation, Take Action, violence against women., women taking action, “Save Our Sisters”
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