Exhibition of photographs titled “Women in Sarajevo under siege” by the prominent BiH photographer and former photojournalist of BH PRESS and FENA Hidajet Delić was opened on yesterday in Sarajevo. The exhibition depicts everyday life of women at the beginning of war.
Author Hidajet Delić emphasized that the exhibited photographs were made during the first two years of the war in Sarajevo and the environs.
“The photographs show everyday life. When we were choosing the photographs, we wanted everything that happens on the photograph to show hope that things that have been going on, the war, will end once. There is no desperation on these photos. I made several thousand photographs of women, children, people during the siege. We chose people whose faces showed hope. I think that women in Sarajevo, in the besieged Sarajevo, are the true heroes of the city, not the men which defended it. Those women did everything for this city to survive and remain what it has always been,” Delić said.
Nihad Kreševljaković, Director of MESS, one of the organizers of this exhibition, said that this exhibition is important not only because it reminds of the events during the siege of Sarajevo, but also because of the violence which women still suffer.
“These photographs recorded thousands and thousands of Sarajevo stories from the period of the siege. On the other hand, stories about women under siege are not important for us only because they remind of the period when women, as general Jovan Divjak says, saved the city, but they are also important because of some other information pertinent to the present times. Nearly 50 percent of women in BiH are exposed to some form of violence. According to research, out of 1.700 young people 70 percent said that they support violence against women and that is why we wanted to draw attention with one story like this that all today’s violators are not different from those who terrorized the city from 1992 until 1995,” said Kreševljaković.
Kreševljaković added that women demonstrated their courage and strength by staying in the besieged Sarajevo.
“Women said a lot by staying in the city and doing what they did. The very fact that women carry us for nine months speaks about the effort, desire, hope and courage to bring one life. I am sure that story about women is a global story from which we all as a society must learn a lot,” said Kreševljaković.
Exhibition is organized as a contribution to the campaign 16 days of activism against gender-based violence and this year’s topic of the campaign is “Paint the world in orange: Raising funds for termination of violence against women”.
Ambassador of France to BiH Claire Bodonyi emphasized that photographs are the right way to inform the public about violence that women are exposed to.
“These photographs provide scenes from the period of the siege of Sarajevo. These photographs enable us to convey our opinion about the plague of violence against women, which is still highly present. However, women know that everything is possible and that evil is possible because they suffer the violence themselves. For example, 35 percent of women in the world had suffered or still suffers violence. What solution can be offered? Of course, education goes first, not only of women, but of men as well. Education should start with men first. Education is important so that women could emancipate later,” Bodonyi said.
Exhibition of this special and authentic collection of photographs was organized jointly by the EU info center in BiH, embassies of France and Germany, Foundation Heinrich Boell and MESS Festival, on the occasion of the International Day of fight against violence against women.
Exhibition will be opened until December 9 in the premises of the EU info center in Sarajevo.
(Source: fokus.ba)
