Dedicated to the five victims of the brutal Nasirabad honour killings, the exhibition is an attempt to keep their memory alive via art and dialogue and seeks justice for the victims whose murder outraged the nation.
The display was followed by a presentation and a panel discussion at National Art Gallery to highlight such issues through the motivating art work of amateur and established artists.
An award-winning film ‘Struggle for justice’ was also screened on the occasion dealing with the issue of Mukhtaran Mai, showcasing the story and miseries of her life.
Director General PNCA Naeem Tahir on the occasion termed art as a powerful language, and condemned such brutal acts of violence.
‘This exhibition is the result of the support of artists, women activists, art institutions, organisations and individuals committed to eradication of honour crimes throughout Pakistan,’ he added.
Curator Nilofer Farrukh said the travelling exhibition would continue till May 31 with the aim of highlighting the increase in honour crimes in recent years and reinforcing the urgent need to control violence against women.
Its objectives are to emphasise the criminal nature of the murders carried out in the name of honour to give a ‘legitimate’ cover to crimes of greed and family feuds, to strengthen the constitutional status of women as free and equal citizens of the country with a right to get protection and justice.
The event will explore art as a catalyst for discussion and awareness within communities all over the country on the issue of honour crimes, she added.
The exhibition will visit Hyderabad, Khairpur, Quetta, Peshawar and Karachi. At all the locations, the core exhibition of works by the 20 renowned artists will be supported with an exhibition on the same theme by local artists and art students.
An interactive session with the community will form a vital part of this project. Besides paintings, a few sculptures were the added attraction of the event while all the items addressed the issue of honour killing through different mediums and themes. Mobina Zuberi in her work ‘The puppet’ uses the medium of mixed media on paper to show women as a manipulated object at the hands of a patriarchal society.
Maham Mujtaba has focussed on the concept ‘Evil has no honour’, whereas Nida Bangash’s work titled ‘In the name of honour’ is a work of collage and paper cutting. The work of Simeen Ishaque is among the major attractions and carries a melding of cultural identities depicting three social satires.
A huge size artwork of Naima Dadabhoy explores the theme of honour killing by using juxtapositions of words, letters and mappings to illuminate the areas between the factual and visual abstract.
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