On the commemoration of the “International Day to End Violence Against Women”, United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) has partnered with CARE International in Egypt and United Nations Information Center (UNIC) to launch a five day art exhibition entitled “Women of Egypt”.

The idea of that exhibition has started when UN Women decided to use a different medium to advocate for women’s rights especially their right to live freely without being subjected to any form of violence. The main advantage of using art exhibition as a channel of advocacy is that it reaches the different segments of the society. In other words, it attracts people who are not necessarily advocates or activists, yet it raises awareness about the issue.

The launch of the art exhibition “Women of Egypt” took place on the 26th of November, 2012 at Mehasa Art and Culture Center in Cairo, Egypt. Twenty young talented and enthusiastic artists had been carefully selected to participate in that exhibition; ten of them were photographers and the other ten were painters. The exhibition aimed at portraying the different angles of the Egyptian women’s lives through painting and photography while focusing more on depicting violence against women.

More than 100 invitees attended the launch and were amazed by the quality of artworks that the young artists were able to produce. Although the paintings were portraying imaginary women, they were very vibrant that they directly touched the audience. The photographs were wonderful; they focused on capturing the role of women and the different situations that she faces in her daily life.

What made that art exhibition successful is the diversity of the artworks displayed. Each painting or photography represented a different angle or perspective, yet they all fall under the main theme “Women of Egypt”.

For more information; please contact Fatma Elzahraa Yassin; Communications Associate at fatma.yassin@unwomen.org or Maha Rateb; Communications and Media Assistant, UN Women Egypt Country Office at maha.rateb@unwomen.org