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http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jun/11/kosovo-sexual-violence-survivors-art-dresses
Exhibition in Kosovo Pays Tribute to Women Survivors of Sexual Violence
Alketa
Xhafa-Mripa’s art installation in a Kosovo football stadium addresses silence
surrounding wartime rape. Xhafa-Mripa, 35, chose the dress or skirt to
symbolise fragility and purity, and by hanging out 5,000 dresses on washing
lines, she has given a new spin to a familiar expression. “‘Air dirty laundry
in public’ is a way of saying ‘Talk about your private issues in public’, but
in this case the laundry is washed, clean, like the women survivors who are
clean, pure – they carry no stain,” she said in an interview in London.
Alketa
Xhafa-Mripa said: ‘I want those thousands of dresses to hit you with the
reality of what happened and I want people to talk about it.’ Photograph:
Jetmir Idrizi
By
Mark Tran – June 11, 2015
A conceptual
artist is transforming a football pitch in Kosovo into a giant art installation,
with thousands of dresses hung on washing lines in a powerful and poignant
tribute to survivors of sexual violence. The exhibition, Thinking
of You, will go on show in the city stadium of Pristina, the capital
of Kosovo, on Friday, the 16th anniversary of Nato forces entering the city
after a three-month bombing campaign.
An estimated
20,000 Albanian women – and some men – were raped by Serbian army, police and paramilitaries
during the 1999 Kosovo war as Albanian separatists fought against the Yugoslav
regime led by Serb strongman Slobodan Milosevic. Alketa Xhafa-Mripa, a
Kosovo-born artist and British national, said the idea for her installation
came as she listened to interviews given by survivors of sexual violence who
said their voices were rarely heard. Anna Di Lellio, a Kosovo expert, worked
with Xhafa-Mripa on the concept and helped implement it.
Installation
of Thinking of You has begun in Pristina’s central stadium. Photograph: Jetmir
Idrizi
“I started
questioning the silence, how we could not hear their voices during and after
the war and thought about how to portray the women in contemporary art,” said
Xhafa-Mripa, who came to London in 1998 to study art and has lived here ever
since with her husband and three children.
Xhafa-Mripa, 35,
chose the dress or skirt to symbolise fragility and purity, and by hanging out
5,000 dresses on washing lines, she has given a new spin to a familiar
expression. “‘Air dirty laundry in public’ is a way of saying ‘Talk about your
private issues in public’, but in this case the laundry is washed, clean, like
the women survivors who are clean, pure – they carry no stain,” she said in an
interview in London.
The dresses are to
be hung on 45 washing lines on a football pitch, which could be seen as a
symbol of masculinity and machismo. By assembling so many dresses and skirts,
Xhafa-Mripa seeks to convey the scale of the problem of sexual violence during
the war. Women and men, not just survivors, will be encouraged to come to the
stadium to help in the installation, sponsored by the National Council for the
Survivors of Wartime Sexual Violence, as an act of solidarity.
“I want those
thousands of dresses to hit you with the reality of what happened and I want
people to talk about it. The installation can be grasped by anyone, no matter
what language they speak,” she said.
As in the Bosnian
war, Serb forces used rape to terrorise and humiliate the civilian population,
according to Human Rights Watch. The rapes – often perpetrated in front of
victim’s families – were carried out mainly by paramilitary forces. Kosovar
militants were also accused of rape, but the number of such cases is believed
to be far lower.
To date, there has
been only one
conviction at the international criminal tribunal for former Yugoslavia based
partly on sexual assaults. In Kosovo itself, there have been only
two rape case prosecutions – by the war crimes unit of Eulex, the EU rule of
law mission in Kosovo.
Few women have spoken publicly about their trauma
for fear of being ostracised or bringing shame upon their family in a highly
traditional society, although there are groups such as the Kosova Women’s
Network that have provided help. Last year, the law on war veterans was changed
to include survivors of sexual violence as being eligible for compensation.
“Survivors of
sexual violence are still stigmatised and denied recognition,” said Atifete
Jahjaga, Kosovo’s first female president and a sponsor of the exhibition. “With
this artistic installation, we show that society supports them, that there is
no ‘us and them’. The language of this installation is universal and goes
beyond Kosovo. We dedicate it to women and men all over
the world who are subjected to sexual violence, a crime against humanity.”
In the runup to
the installation, Xhafa-Mripa has been attending events in Pristina and other
towns, collecting clothes from people and hearing harrowing stories from
survivors. People have been encouraged to contribute items of clothing imbued
with special meaning. President Jahjaga was an early donor. One woman donated
her wedding dress. Another gave a pair of trousers she wore while on the run
from Serb forces.
Cherie Blair, wife
of former prime minister Tony Blair, also made a donation, as did Lady Anelay, the UK’s new special representative
on preventing sexual violence in conflict, who will carry on the work begun by
William Hague, the former foreign secretary.
“Let’s contribute
together and dedicate this to the survivors of rape during the war,” said
Xhafa-Mripa. “The beauty of this artwork is that everyone is so willing to be
involved. They want to be part of it – that’s my biggest achievement.”