Scenes of Domestic Violence through the Lens of Young Photographers - PHOTO

Rustam Gasimov

Violence against women is one of the most important problems of modern society. The purpose of yesterday's photo exhibition "Say NO to Violence against Women", which was opened in the Natavan Gallery & Club, was to show the work of young photographers, who tried to depict scenes of domestic violence in the Azerbaijani families through the lenses of their cameras. They did it fairly well. 

The guests were greeted by the gallery owner Natavan Aliyeva and a representative of Arts Council Azerbaijan Dadash Mamedov, who later made a speech, describing the topics of this event and how relevant they are today, and invited visitors to enjoy the works of the participants. 

Each work was full of emotions, feelings and expression. The greatest attention of the audience was attracted by the work of Mirsadykh Huseynov, which depicted a girl sitting back to us, with a pot on her head. It immediately became the subject of discussion, because one of the favorite expressions used during family quarrels is "I will now put a pot on your head." In the photography, the girl was feeling an invisible fear, and her bare back emphasized her vulnerability to raging anger.

In general, all the exhibited photographs showed different types of violence, including sexual violence, invisible violence, open manifestations of aggression with beatings, psychological pressure on the person with money and other factors to impose their will and commitment to total submission and complete control over woman.

Another photo taken by Mikail Jabbarly could not better display the title of the exhibition. The photo was with two hands, male and female, who seemed to symbolize a gesture identical to the expression "say "NO" to violence against young women."

Most of the photos were black and white, but among them were a few colored pictures that could not be overlooked. In one of them belonging to Jamila Ashumova was depicted a beautiful girl in a pink dress with her hands tied.

Another photograph passed an atmosphere of seething emotions and violent showdown, during which the man threw the girl on the bed, grabbed her hair and was going to hit. The picture seems alive and does not allow you to remain indifferent. Suffering, pain, despair permeate this story of desperate family quarrel, where the man-tyrant vents his evil on the girl.

The next couple of pictures show another scene of domestic violence, where a guy in a photo first tries to throw a noose around the girl's neck, and then decides to strangle her with his own hands. Comments to this photo are unnecessary, because the story speaks for itself.

Another participant of the exhibition, Leila Agayeva presented to the audience a picture reflecting the most common consequences of domestic violence suffered by women. The photo shows a girl with a large hematoma on her left hand, apparently resulting from domestic quarrels.

The photo by Orkhan Abbasov draws a parallel between the mental and the physical aspects of the life of women in the family. Handcuffs that bound her hands are as if telling us that the life of this unfortunate woman recalls imprisonment, where she is bound by invisible chains. Even if she is physically free, the prison is spiritual and she does not know how to get out of it, becoming a plaything in the hands of a despot, who continues to poke fun at her, considering her a thing belonging to him. And he can deal with her, as he pleases.

In general, the exhibitors managed to uncover the essence of the problem, to convey the fear, pain, despair and other emotions that arise in women as a result of various forms of domestic violence. It is hoped that this event will have a positive impact on the current problem in our society and contribute to its soonest resolution.

ANN.Az