“Being able to make our own decisions about our health, body and sex life is a fundamental human right. All over the world many of us are persecuted for making these choices – or are prevented from doing them.”
Says the new campaign by Amnesty International “My body My Rights.”
Artist Hikaru Cho, young college student in Tokyo, supports this human rights campaign with her provocative works of art .
These painted stories are told on the body, through the fine art of body painting, which becomes a metamorphosis, to claim the right of each of us to own our own flesh, reclaiming our mutant identity.
“You have the right to choose who you love and what kind of family you want and to live free from sexual violence and rape. I hope that my art can help young people to start a conversation about these rights”, saidCho.
One of the titles of these works of art reminds us of an important reflection on the theme: “Look the right through yourself.”
“My body My Rights”: diritti umani dipinti sul corpo
Così recita la nuova campagna di Amnesty international “My body My Rights” (Il mio corpo i miei diritti):
“Essere in grado di prendere le nostre decisioni sulla nostra salute, sul corpo e sulla vita sessuale è un diritto umano fondamentale. Eppure, in tutto il mondo, molti di noi sono perseguitati per fare queste scelte – o viene impedito loro di farle.”
A sostegno della campagna le opere provocatorie dell’artista Hikaru Cho, giovane studentessa di Tokio. In questi scatti vengono raccontano storie dipinte sul corpo, attraverso l’arte raffinata del body painting che diventa mutamento, per rivendicare il diritto di ciascuno di noi sulla propria carne di riappropriarci della nostra identità mutante.
“Avete il diritto di scegliere chi amate e che tipo di famiglia si desidera e di vivere liberi da stupro e violenza sessuale. Spero che la mia arte possa aiutare i giovani a iniziare una conversazione su tali diritti”, ha detto Cho.
Uno dei titoli ci richiama ad una importante riflessione sul tema: ”Guarda il diritto attraverso di te.”
– How can men “change the cycle” of violence against women? Joachim Ostertag, supervisor of the men’s program at Bruce-Grey Child and Family Services in Owen Sound, after 23 years working with abusive men said:
I don’t have the answer. Everybody knows about violence against women, but people don’t know what to do about it.
On the 20th of June 2013 Joachim has cycled solo from Ontario to British Columbia to Change the Cycle of male violence towards women.
Joachim Ostertag’s aim was to collect stories from people he met during his journey by cycle, talking about how they have been affected by male violence and how men can be the change.
Violence against women and abuse are in our lives everyday, we read about it on newspapers, we watch it in the News on TV, we find it in books and on Internet but we need to realise the fact that if we make the choice of not talking about it with people around us, we are denying the problem.
We feel vulnerable and powerless in regard of violence and abuse and this is what violence against women and abuse are about: the condition of vulnerability and powerlessness.
Perhaps this is one of the reasons why talking about it with friends, family and a partner can often be a tabu’.
With his project Joachim is showing us the importance of asking questions about a subject, which is still so difficult to talk about. If we are not willing to talk about it, we are not taking the responsibility (respons-ability=ability to respond) for it.
We are aware of all the violence that is going on in the world and we ask to ourselves:
what can I do to change it?
Joachim gave us a sensible example of how each story and each person can contribute to the community, to facing the problem by simply considering it our problem, asking everybody’s opinions and advices about possible solutions to deal with it.
If you want to know more about Change the Cycle, visit the Official website:
Article written for Non profit organization Demetra Onlus
“Never mind where you come from, what your faith or religion is, come and share your pain, hold my hand and pull yourself up. Come on in, there’s always room for one more.”
Maher, (“Mother’s home”) is the name chosen by Sister Lucy for her project in India, initially created for women, victims of domestic violence. In 1997, the first Maher house opened its doors, in the small village of Vadhu-Budruk.
The event which changed Sister Lucy ‘s life and many other women, children and men’s lives happened in 1991 when sister Lucy was a volunteer in Bombay, for an organization called “Hope”. One night a pregnant woman asked her for help, she was scared to lose her life because her husband was going to killer her in order to bring an other woman in their house. Unfortunately Sister Lucy at that time was not authorised to invite her to stay in, so she couldn’t protect the woman from her husband.
“I was brought up in a secure family environment and I was unaware that one night could make such a difference to the life of a woman” says Sr. Lucy. “That very night, her husband, in a drunken rage, set her on fire, she died of 90 degree burns and with her died the seven month old foetus.”
After that devastating experience Sr. Lucy with the emotional support of her friends and especially thanks to Father Francis D’Sa encouragement, she decided to do something to change the conditions of abused and traumatized women, give them a place, a “mother’s home” where they would feel safe and cared for. During the growing years Maher expanded its support to children and men who needed help and provision. Maher’s increased the number of centres and their service, including: awareness programmes, Balwadis (Kindergartens), tutorials, workshops and self help groups in order to promote self-reliability and independency.
“What can you do to promote world peace? Go home and love your family.”
If you want to know more about Maher’s projects, visit their Official website:
DIRITTI DELLE DONNE: Suor Lucy Kurien porta una nuova visione per le donne e i bambini indigenti.
Suor Lucia Kurien, India
“Non importa da dove provenite, quale sia la vostra fede o religione, raggiungeteci e condividete il vostro dolore, prendete la mia mano e tiratevi su con le vostre forze. Entrate, c’è sempre spazio per una persona in più. “
Maher, (“casa della madre”) è il nome scelto da Suor Lucia per il suo progetto in India, creato inizialmente per le donne, vittime di violenza domestica. Nel 1997, la prima casa Maher ha aperto le sue porte, nel piccolo villaggio di Vadhu-Budruk.
L’evento che ha cambiato la vita di sorella Lucy e molte altre donne, bambini e uomini risale al 1991, quando sorella Lucy prestava servizio come volontaria a Bombay, per un’organizzazione chiamata “Speranza”. Una notte, una donna incinta si recò a farle visita per chiederle aiuto. Temeva di poter perdere la vita, il marito aveva intenzione di ucciderla per portare un’altra donna nella loro casa. Purtroppo sorella Lucy a quel tempo non era autorizzata ad invitare la donna a restare per la notte, in modo da proteggerla dal marito.
” Sono cresciuta in un ambiente familiare sicuro e non ero consapevole del fatto che una notte potesse fare una tale differenza, per la vita di una donna “, dice Suor Lucy . “Quella stessa notte, il marito della donna, in preda alla rabbia, ubriaco, dette fuoco alle moglie che morì a causa di ustioni di 90 gradi, e con lei il feto di sette mesi che portava in grembo.”
Dopo quella devastante esperienza, Suor Lucy con il sostegno emotivo dei suoi più cari amici e soprattutto grazie all’incoraggiamento di Padre Francis D’ Sa, decise di fare qualcosa per cambiare le condizioni delle donne. vittime di abusi e traumi, decise così che avrebbe offerto loro un posto, una “casa della madre ” dove si sarebbero sentite al sicuro e amate. Durante gli anni successivi l’Associazione Maher ha esteso il sostegno anche ai bambini e agli uomini che avevano bisogno di aiuto e di cure. Maher ha incrementato il numero dei centri e ha ampliato il tipo di servizi, tra cui: programmi di sensibilizzazione, Balwadis ( scuole materne ), esercitazioni, workshop e gruppi di auto-aiuto, al fine di promuovere l’ indipendenza e la capacità di provvedere a se stessi delle persone accolte.
“Che cosa si può fare per promuovere la pace nel mondo? Andate a casa e amate la vostra famiglia .”
Se volete saperne di più sui progetti dell’Associazione Maher, visitate il loro Sito ufficiale:
Well-being, Human Rights & Sustainability 