Women’s struggle recognised in Botanic Gardens exhibition

THE struggle of women around the world will be highlighted in an international exhibition Women in Resistance (Femmes en résistance) by French photographer, Pierre-Yves Ginet, which can be seen at the Sunken Gardens at the Durban Botanic Gardens from 20 June.

The exhibition is a collaboration between Alliance Française de Durban, Durban Botanic Gardens and the French Institute of South Africa (IFAS). It aims to recognise the struggle, contribution, but also the sacrifice of women, for survival, dignity, democracy, equality and justice all over the world.

The exhibition is an essay of portraits with bilingual English and French text by photographer, Pierre-Yves Ginet. It features 25 photo panels of 25 groups of women in 25 countries – from the fight of Congolese women for victims of sexual violence, to the fight of Tibetan nuns in Asia for education, through to the fight of Argentinian women against dictatorship. It will be a world tour of diverse causes lead by ordinary yet exceptional women.

The exhibition is partnered with an interactive local exhibition Women in Resistance, Durban and KwaZulu-Natal on Facebook.

“Women represent more than half of humanity but many are still today, excluded from their country’s economic, political and social life. They are more vulnerable to poverty, lack of education and wars,” explains photographer Pierre-Yves Ginet.

In his works, photographer Ginet wanted to depart from the stereotypical representation, which often places women as victimised, rather to give priority to the struggles led by many of them. Women in Resistance shows the reality of women’s commitment, struggle, and sacrifice for survival, dignity, democracy, equality and justice. This is a stark reminder that societies are mixed and that history is equally as feminine as it is masculine.

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