Telling women’s war stories through photography
Betty Nakibuuka, a war victim, chats with Gender minister Mary Karooro Okurut (R) at the exhibition. PHOTO by Michael Kakumirizi
If one visits the Uganda Museum this month, their hearts will melt and condemn wars that happen in various countries across the world. French photographer Pierre-Yves Ginet’s exhibition Women in Resistance has brought out the traumatic experience women undergo in such violent times.
Ginet’s photographs capture his journey in war-torn countries like Morocco, Angola, Kosovo, Rwanda, Sudan and Afghanistan, amongst others.
The photo of feminists advocating for their rights in Libya after the 2011 Arab spring caught the audience’s imaginations the most.
Jose Maria Queiros, the director of Alliance Francaise Kampala, says Ginet’s photography is inspirational and a great weapon for advocacy against wars. “When you keenly look at the photos and interpret the message in them, one will see the effects wars bring on women, solidarity showcased by them and care they have over their children than men who turn wild by using rape as a weapon of the violence.”
To give the exhibition an indigenous feel, Ugandan photographer Oscar Kibuuka took photos of two women, Gladys Canogura and Betty Nakibuuka who experienced the previous wars of Kony’s Lord Resistance Army in northern Uganda and the 1986 National Resistance Army war in Luweero respectively.
The evening was graced by Gender minister Mary Karooro Okurut, Sophie Makame, the French ambassador and Dr Ahuna Ezaikonwa-Onochie, the United Nations resident coordinator who acknowledged the initiative and also encouraged others to deliver informative messages through arts like music, comedy, paintings amongst other forms.
