‘Many Faces of Womanhood’: Brussels images present challenges gender stereotypes in Ukraine and Caucasus – EUobserver

Against the historic backdrop of Brussels’ Mont des Arts, a brand new open-air exhibition in Brussels, working till mid-June, is difficult the normal gaze on jap European and Caucasian feminine identification – the place the trail to gender equality is lined with mines of violence and discrimination.

‘The Many Faces of Womanhood’, organised by the UN and the EU, captures the multifaceted lives of ladies throughout Armenia, Moldova, Georgia, and Ukraine as they single-handedly elevate households, make artwork, earn a residing, and be a part of the entrance traces to combat for his or her nations. 

From wrestling world champion Irina Rîngaci to Ukrainian sniper and journalist Olena Bilozerska, the 36 works on show don’t shrink back from the complexity of the fashionable feminine expertise – bringing collectively topics that overcame strict gender traditions.

As deputy regional director of UN Women Elisa Fernandez Saenz instructed EUobserver, it’s a highlight on “Women in their diverse roles, women in their complexities.” 

The timing of the exhibition isn’t any coincidence. Fernandez describes the venture as a vital intervention throughout a interval of world “gender backlash” marked by a conservative shift in some areas the place gender equality is more and more seen as “a threat.” 

During the opening of the exhibition on Friday (8 May), Laurence Gillois, who works for the UN Women workplace in Brussels, celebrated the tales behind the photographs as an emblem of progress.

“Deeply-rooted stereotypes continue to influence progress and outcomes, both in economic participation, in leadership, and in freedom from violence,” Gillois stated. 

The photographs will stay on present till 14 June, when they are going to be moved round between the nations of their topics.

Olga Ivaschenko, the artist behind the lens of all 36 pictures, has been capturing the Ukrainian entrance traces as a photojournalist and located a reference to a variety of her topics by way of shared resistance in instances of battle.