Voices Of Women Media in LOVER

DAY IN HER LIFE
VOICES OF WOMEN MEDIA
article by Marije Janssen | woensdag 28 april 2010
in LOVER

link to article
(In Dutch)

In 2007 richtten Vivian Wenli Lin en Pooja Pant de stichting Voices of Women op. Afkomstig uit de Verenigde Staten en Nepal zijn ze nu woonachtig in Amsterdam. Beiden zijn al jaren actief op het gebied van mediakunst, feminisme, gender-issues en activisme.

Voices of Women ontstond met als insteek om de stigma’s die uiteenlopende vrouwelijke arbeiders omringen weg te nemen. Het is een organisatie in ontwikkeling. Na hun eerste project ‘Dissillusionment’ in 2007 waarin ze migrantenvrouwen de kans boden zelf te vertellen over hun bestaan en soms extreme werkomstandigheden zijn ze in 2010, met steun van Mama Cash, begonnen aan een uitgebreid en gelaagd nieuw project onder de noemer ‘A day in her life’.

Dit project omvat verschillende elementen. In eerste instantie is het een workshop voor zowel sekswerkers als slachtoffers van mensenhandel, waarin ze vrouwen de vrijheid en mogelijkheid bieden om te praten over hun leven en daarbij op creatieve wijze gebruik te maken van media als radio, video en fotografie. “Het gaat er niet om dat de deelnemers hun ‘ware’ identiteit prijsgeven. Maar we willen hun dagelijks leven, hun dromen en hoop vastleggen.” Omdat juist deze verhalen vaak niet gedocumenteerd worden, niet gehoord worden willen Vivian Wenli Lin en Pooja Pant met hun werk een zo divers mogelijk publiek bereiken.

Het uiteindelijke resultaat verwerken ze tot een videoinstallatie waarin de verhalen van de vrouwen te zien en te horen zijn. Bezoekers kunnen kijken en luisteren naar de ervaringen en levens die gedeeld worden. Verder richten ze een fototentoonstelling in, met foto’s van alle vrouwen. Door zowel vrijwillig werkende vrouwen als slachtoffers van mensenhandel aan het woord te laten, ontstaat er een rijkheid aan stemmen die laten zien dat dit werk niet eenduidig te interpreteren is.

Vivian en Pooja willen ruimte maken voor de menselijke aspecten van het werk dat deze vrouwen doen. Dat vrouwen die vrijwillig werken het recht hebben te beslissen wat ze met hun lichaam doen, die keuzevrijheid is essentieel. En dat vrouwen die slachtoffer zijn geweest, meer zijn dan alleen dat, slachtoffer.

Voices of Women wil vrouwen zelf letterlijk de middelen bieden om hun eigen verhaal te vertellen en zodoende zichzelf te versterken en hun eigenwaarde te vergroten.

Het werk van Voices of Women is op dit moment nog in ontwikkeling. Tijdens het LOVER-debat over de rechten van sekswerkers, op 23 juni in Utrecht, zal een deel van het werk te zien en te horen zijn. Meer informatie over het debat volgt

May Day 2010

A few days ago, I was in the supermarket with Martin and Jan and matter-of-factly said, "I always carry my own bag when I go grocery shopping. The thought of having to buy a plastic bag is my worst nightmare." Martin, replied (of course) before I could finish my next breath, "Wow, you live a very luxurious life. If that's your worst nightmare." Which really forced me to think about what I said and to thank the creator that it was true. My personal life has recently been relatively comfortable and happy. My work is heading in the right direction - my creativity is on fire with inspiration all around me. A lot of good people surround me in my life and it's springtime in Amsterdam. There is nothing more I could ask for.
Later that night, I was reading the news after a long time and heard of the latest developments from Nepal.For those of you who may be unaware, there has been a long and intense struggle against the feudal elites in Nepal. In 1996 the Maoist rebels;under the leadership of Prachanda(the fierce one); officially started a revolution from the countryside of Nepal called the "People's War(Jana Yuddha)".
Until then Nepal was a kingdom which people proudly called it "the only Hindu kingdom"! Such is the power of propoganda. Being opressed and ruled by one family is thought to be a national pride that unites the people!Not only that but Nepali people worshiped the king as a form of Vishnu; one of the main Gods of the Hindu tradition; He who preserves and nourishes!
10 years of long and bloody war finally achieved the dream of many oppressed and brave Nepali people; they managed to overthrow their 240 year old regime and establish a "People's Republic Of Nepal". The Peace Process was signed and the Maoists were working together with the other other political parties in Nepal. From 2006 until now the country has been going through the birth pains of building a completely new system! Nepal being a very traditional, superstitious and religious country had a lot of changes that needed to be made; both socially and politically. This is no easy job! During the historic elections finally in 2008; the Maoists won 220 out of 575 seats in the new government, making it the largest party in the Constituent Assembly and Prachanda was elected the new Prime Minister.
Today is May Day 2010. A day for the workers of the world. A day we celebrate the rights that were fought for us by our older generation so we can work 8 hours/day.
However living in Amsterdam though;today is the day after Queens Day! A day of rest from all the non stop partying, boozing, and drugs for the past 2 days. It is a celebration of the Queen Mother's birthday and is supposed to be a day of national unity.
For someone who comes from a country where the people managed to overthrow their queens and kings it is a crazy concept that in the so called "democratic" west; the people still celebrate their oppressor's birthday!!
Meanwhile in Nepal right now there are MAJOR protests going on. The coalition government of Nepal is not really working out; Prachanda resigned from the government about a year ago as the President of Nepal reinstated an army chief who was sacked by Prachanda. The new constitution of Nepal is not yet completed. The fragile peace accord is on the verge of collapse.
Hundreds of thousands of people are now gathered in Kathmandu from all over Nepal to celebrate May Day and also to launch "people's revolt". The May Day demonstrators have a list of demands.
Maoist leaders have said that if the government does not immediately adhere to the people's demands then street protests will continue indefinitely.
I sit here in the comfort of my home in Amsterdam, contemplating if i should step out to enjoy the sun or stay in and work; while my mother; back home in Nepal is not only dealing with the above issues, there is also no electricity for 16 hours a day everyday. Now she also has to make sure she has enough rice, dal and vegetables to eat.
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PS: All images are borrowed. First photo is "Naya Bihana" by Martin Travers, second photo is by Li Onesto and the third one is from some news site somewhere!