Photos give freedom of expression to marginalised women

Azah's photgraphs are joyous shots of church weddings in Syria, full of movement and colour.They represent this 20-year-old Christian's dream - a dream that was shattered when she fell in love with a Muslim man. "I love a Muslim. I can't tell my parents - they will kill me. I wanted to marry him but I can't because of my family - that's why we split," she said. Azah was one of six marginalised women from diverse religious backgrounds to be given a digital camera two months ago so they could tell their stories in their own way. "I love taking photographs. At first it was so hard and I was also too shy to photograph other people. But yesterday I was taking photos at a marriage - I didn't know the people but I felt part of them." The 'Open Shutters' project is the brainchild of Etana Press, a Damascus-based publishing house which aims at increasing civic awareness in Syrian society, particularly among the youth, and Eugenie Dolberg, a British professional photographer. The project is affiliated with the UK charity PhotoVoice and received funding of US $19,800 from the American Cultural Centre in Damascus. "Participatory photography has proved to be a compelling way to empower people and build understanding," said Dolberg. "These women have gained the confidence to talk to each other about religion in Syria - something they would never normally do because women are generally excluded from religious dialogue." Among the women is Khairia, a 35 year-old Kurdish Sunni woman who took pictures of cemeteries and grieving families. Her mother died on a trip to Turkey when she was just one year old. No-one in her family told her the truth. When aged five she finally demanded to see her mother, she was taken to a grave. The other four are: Sana'a, an Iraqi Shi’ite woman in her 30s who has returned to Baghdad to fight for a divorce from her abusive husband; 24-year-old Sunni Palestinian divorcee Lubna; 27-year-old Malak, a Druze Muslim; and 22-year-old Nawara, who is half Alawite Muslim and half Sunni and whose feuding grandparents tried to force their respective religions on her after her parents became political prisoners. The womens' photographs, most of which have religious themes, will be unveiled at an exhibition in a Damascus sculpture studio on 13 October and again at an Etana Press conference called 'Women and traditions' in Damascus University. The group also plans to exhibit in Egypt, London and New York. In addition, they will publish a book and DVD of essays and photos by the women. The experience of meeting women from other religions - the first time some participants had ever done so - has had a profound experience on Azah. "This has really changed me a lot. I know a lot more about other religions and am more open-minded than before. Even though we are living alongside Muslims I really knew little," she explained. "In Syria we never ask about other religions - you just stay with yours. My family tells me I am different from Muslims, that they have different ideas, that I can't stay with them,” she added.