Still Life is the handiwork of Sagal Ali, the director of the Somali Arts Foundation, which she founded in September 2020.
Fardowsa Hussein: Blending in with nature Nairobi, Kenya, 2018
She is aiming to change how people are perceived, and she believes that this display will contradict the notion that women cannot create highly technological works of art.
Since Somalia is often associated with photographs of conflict and devastation, the photography exhibition held in the capital, Mogadishu, successfully challenged that myth.
Hana Mire: A Hairstyle, Mogadishu, 2018
Back home, the profession of photography is dominated by men “especially when it comes to street photography. Women are not expected to be outside documenting day-to-day life, in a place where most people are still busy simply surviving” says Ali.
“It’s important that women reclaim the public space,” says one of the photographers, Fardowsa Hussein. She continues to say, that men often shout at her as she is shooting on the streets, telling her that she should be inside instead of embarrassing herself in public.
Hana Mire: Shangani, Mogadishu, 2016
“I want it to become entirely normal for a woman like me to go out and about, filming and taking photos, without fear of harassment or worse.”
The two aspiring photographers claim that for far too long Westerners have dominated the debate on Somalia, depicting it as the world’s most dangerous place, broken out between war, disease, and hunger.
Fardowsa Hussein: Through my sister’s eyes, Nairobi, Kenya, 2018
Today, they want to control the portrayal of Somalia in an attempt to have more informative and truthful pictures of life in the area.
We applaud the great initiative these women have for wanting to change the status quo by publicly displaying the product of creative artwork made and organized by women all whilst fighting against gender norms in Somalia.
Fardowsa Hussein: Fardowsa Hussein: Sisterhood, Nairobi, Kenya, 2020
