Exhibition on women in the Middle East opens in US amid battle over abortion

2023-04-22 00:26:00

An exhibition by and about women from the Middle East opens in California this weekend, amid a fierce battle over abortion rights in the United States.

“Women Who Define Women in Contemporary Art from the Middle East and Beyond” brings together the creations of 42 female painters, sculptors, photographers who address the personal histories of women in Islamic societies.

According to the curators, it also seeks to challenge stereotypes about Oriental women that predominate in the West.

“Many people believe that all women go through the same thing in the Middle East, that they are all invisible, that they are oppressed and lead horrible lives,” curator Linda Komaroff told AFP.

“And it’s not right. It’s the same for women everywhere. They have the capacity to act and they use it”, assures Komaroff.

Approximately 75 works are presented in this exhibition, which opens its doors on Sunday (23) at the Los Angeles Museum of Art (LACMA).

The exhibition includes pieces from Iran, a country where strong protests have recently taken place, mainly by women, following the death of young Mahsa Amini in a police facility.

The young woman had been detained for allegedly not properly using the veil, which is mandatory.

A powerful photograph by Iranian Newsha Tavakolian shows a compatriot dressed in traditional attire, as well as a pair of boxing gloves.

Another, by fellow Iranian Shirin Aliabadi, illustrates the rebellious touch of the younger generation by portraying a compatriot who wears a blonde wig and blue contact lenses and conveys a defiant attitude by inflating a ball of pink gum.

The exhibition takes place just as the US turns its eyes to the issue of abortion, after the Supreme Court eliminated the constitutional right to terminate a pregnancy last year.

This Friday, the Court must rule on access to the drug mifepristone, used to abort for decades in the United States and whose prescription and use throughout the country was suspended on April 7 by a Texas judge.

Taking this context into account, Komaroff pointed out, this exhibition comes at a good time.

“Things are going downhill for American women when it comes to controlling their own bodies,” she said.

“The Americans were complacent. It’s easy to look at another country or another region and say, ‘We’re better than them,'” he commented. “But maybe we’re not. Maybe we’re all in the same boat together.”

The exhibition will be on display until September 24th.