Staff Reporter
Daughters of Defiance, an art showcase to raise a voice against aggression towards women was held at Lahore’s Ambiance Boutique Art Hotel.
Curated by Emaan Kasuri, an aspiring artist, the event aimed to create awareness through a range of diverse art mediums including paintings, photography and sculptures.
The event also featured a panel discussion with Nasreen Kasuri, Former Chairperson and Founder; Salima Hashmi, Former Dean, School of Visual Arts & Design; Munizae Jahangir, a prominent broadcast journalist and Dr Lawrence Burke, Chief Education Advisor. The discussion was moderated by Emaan Kasuri and Tabassum Murtaza.
The discussion explored the role of art as a vehicle to raise important social issues such as aggression against women, which includes harassment, assault and violence.
The speakers emphasised that in wake of the frequent events of femicide and gender- based violence, Pakistan as a society needs to re-evaluate its collective thought process.
They highlighted that this change needs to start at a young age by educating our children, and inculcating values of mutual respect and inclusivity.
The need and potential for legislation and implementation of women’s protection laws was also highlighted.
Panelists further discussed victim blaming as a dangerous trend that is dividing our society and driving conversations in the wrong direction, discouraging victims to report crimes and further feeding a culture of intolerance and impunity, in a country already ranked 153 out of 156 nations by the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap 2021 index.
