PP My selves

"My Selves"

"My selves" is an on-going visual project on the perception, exploration and representation of the self, the "selves", from women in different parts of the world (Jordan and India so far), where historically rooted socio-cultural norms still their wishes and impose specific behaviors because of their gender. There is too often a gap between who they need to be and who they would like to be.

Through an exploration of their self, the subjects find the space to investigate and ask themselves uncomfortable and sometimes painful questions about the people they are and they want to be, to find new answers. The final goal of the project is to show images that are mutually thought of and created from the scratch, which shed light on the difficulty of being women in each specific country, but that also aim to go beyond national borders, beyond geographies, religions, political situations, economic systems: these contraddictions are global.

The photos portray stories of women whose ambitions focus on gender equality: an equality that cannot be followed only within the Constitution but also in the (too often ignored) everyday life.

DANI (Amman, Jordan)

"For so many women in Jordan are the house is the place where they belong and should not leave, as if they were an intrisic part of home furniture. I'm lucky as my parents are open minded. I myself decided to wear Hijab but in a more vintage style, like women used to wear it and dress years ago. I love it and my parents understand me."

"My name is Dani, I'm 22 years old and I study architecture. I like to paint and photograph."

LINA (AMMAN, JORDAN)

“Because I am a strong, outspoken woman, I am perceived as a threat, defying the stereotype of the soft spoken controllable Muslim Arab woman. But a wolf doesn't concern herself with the opinion of goats and sheeps. I am threatening to them, because I dare to be different. I would much rather live as a wolf, than die a goat."
"My name is Lina, a Palestinian Jordan Ian artist who has spent the last 10 years utilizing art mediums in order to tell the story of Palestine and the Middle East, including creating award-winning videos, controversial comics, and large murals. My artwork speaks about the importance of resistance through art and it has been exhibited in countless events in Jordan, Turkey, Tunisia, the US, Ireland and Argentina.”

DANI, HAYA, LARA, RASHA (Amman, Jordan)

"As we grow up we realize how we, as women, have so little power over our future. It is not only society, but also our family who tell us how to behave, dress, what our field of study or job need to be. It is like our parents are sewing are future and we have almost no possibility to change it, like an intensive animal farming where animals are just waiting to be slaughtered."
(From left) "My name is Dani, I'm 22 years old and I study architecture, I like to paint and photograph."

"My name is Haya, I'm 23, I recently grduated and I now work as a flight attendant: I love it as it allows me to travel to places I would not otherwise have the chance to go because of my Jordanian passport."
"My name is Lara, I'm 23 and a grad student and I love fashion design."
"My name is Rasha, I'm 33 years old and work as a freelance designer in the studio I opened in Amman, Jordan."

NOUR (Amman, Jordan)

"Because of my job as a model I'm always asked to behave and dress in a certain way. That is what people in this sector want from you. I have a lot of freckles on my face which I love, but when I go to work it is the first thing they hide as they do not fit into their beauty standards. Their expectations paralyze me."

"My name is Nour, I'm 25 years old and I work as a freelance model. In my spare time I love to create YouTube content."

RASHA (Amman, Jordan)

"In Jordan as women we are not legally allowed to ask for divorce unless it is our family who do it for us. So even if you end up in a sad arranged marriage you almost have no power to change the situation. In this photo I'm wearing my wedding dress, a chain, and a bunch of flowers".

"My name is Rasha, I'm 33 years old and work as a freelance designer in the studio I opened in Amman, Jordan."

SRIVIDYA (Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India)

“I think I identify most as a woman from discomfort rather than comfort. It is in uncomfortable situations that my gender becomes most prominent. Especially in public spaces, when I get stared at. I try to brush it off, pretend to not notice it and go ahead with whatever I am doing. But that confidence almost seems delusional at times. As a kid I was most afraid of being lost. Now, I would rather be unseen in a crowd."

"My name is Srividya, a Tamizhian. I’m 21 years old studying humanities at IIT Madras. I don’t know what I want to do, but I’m in no hurry to set things in stone.”

KRIPALI (Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India)

”The black lines on my arms [in the photo] are drawn with eye-liner on the scars of self harm that made me who I am. My school was a typical South Indian school that had most of the orthodox and narrow minded teachers. I started getting tags like “easily available”. Seniors and juniors in my school started bullying me. This affected me a lot mentally and emotionally. To ease out that pain, I started harming myself physically. Now that I think about it, it makes me feel so sad. But I’ve become stronger. That’s when I realised how difficult it is for us to be ourselves when the environment is so toxic, especially a space like an educational institute where you’re trying to grow."

"My name is Kripali and I’m 23 years old. Apart from being a model by profession, I like to read and take photographs, I love Jazz and I spend most of my evenings watching the sky".

MAYA (Thrissur, Kerala, India)

“In Kerala as Dalit communities we were always denied our lawful rights over land and resources. The struggle for me is not only to be a woman, but a Dalit woman."

"My name is Maya, I am a writer and a PhD student. I recently won the Bluestone Rising Scholar Award from Brandies University, USA. It is the first time that a Dalit woman wins this kind of international prize.”

PADMA (Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India)

“Moving out was a difficult decision to make. It was the same week when the Hyderabad rape case (2019) happened - 4 men violently gang raped and murdered a 26 year old veterinary doctor. It reminded me of how India isn't ever safe for womxn. Even if they follow all the rules - wearing 'decent' clothes, not having male friends, living with family, not smoking/drinking or staying out late, etc. - there's no guarantee of security. I don’t know a single womxn who hasn't been catcalled or molested. For the next few weeks since that case, everyday life got harder. I found myself coming home earlier than usual. I became ‘stricter’ with my outfits. I’d pick out something to wear, then put it back in my closet and choose something more 'covering', or more traditional."

"My name is Padma and I’m a straight cis-woman from a Brahmin savarna, middle-class and urban background. If it’s this scary for me to be a woman, I can't even imagine how dangerous this country is for those without my privilege.”

Note: communities which belong to one of the four varnas/castes like Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Sudra are called "Savarna".

SHEEBA (Thrissur, Kerala, India)

“What makes me a strong woman is my softness and sensitivity coupled with a loving temperament towards all living creatures. I know nothing will stop me. Yet sometimes I still feel like a little girl who wants to chase butterflies."

"My name is Sheeba and I am the founder of Solace, an NGO that supports children with longterm illness. When my daughter was diagnosed with leukemia and hospitalized, I became aware of the suffering of those parents who could not afford medications for their kids. I found a solution through Solace, where we currently offer care and medical support to over 2000 children all over Kerala, South West India.”

KALABATI (Mysore, Karnataka, India)

“Even though living alone in India is common in big cities, it’s only common as an idea. People still don't know what to make of it. "What does she do for the whole day? Who is going into her house?". I am inherently a very friendly person but I constantly have to negotiate with men for simple things and that makes me feel like a cactus. Even when I am alone at home in my most intimate space it takes too many steps to peel off that skin and be a flower again."

"My name is Kalabati and I am 32 years old. I work as a graphic and textile designer to pay my bills. Otherwise I am intersted in humans, their problems and creativity to either solve or further complicate them."

ROSHNI (Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India)

“Growing up in India, I always felt removed from my community and felt very different from the kind of women I was surrounded by- my mother, cousins, friends and schoolmates. An oddity. I always thought other girls were prettier, more graceful, kinder and more charming. More desirable. That's what Television told me, too. In my mind, I was never enough. I was too talkative, clumsy, inappropriate. I could pretend, but I'd quickly get bored of the whole act. As a teenager, I never had the mental stamina to be precise in my act, keep up the façade. I wonder if the other girls felt the same, growing up. I wonder if they're still pretending. I don’t deny that I am."
"My name is Roshni, and I'm a privileged Savarna woman living in urban India. I write, act and photograph. Learning and understanding experiences of people, that fall outside the myopic sociopolitical narrative I've grown up with, is important to me.”

WAFAA (Berlin, Germany)

"Most of the time people talk about girls who are forced to wear hijab, but what about girls who are forced to take it off to get a good job or an apartment? Being an Arab Muslim Palestinian hijabi girl in Germany is a challenge. It is always hard to get what I want, it is hard to get a job, it is hard to get a passport, it is hard to get an appartement, everything is a challenge for me. I sing, loudly, with my voice, I am stronger, I can reach everyone’s heart. I can show the world, what Women can do, what Arab Palestinian hijabi women can do.
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My name is Wafaa and I am 20 years old. I live in Berlin since 2015 but I am from Gaza, Palestine. I never thought I would have to leave Palestine, but here I am. I love music and I love singing. Most of the songs I sing are about Palestine and about missing my homeland."

LISA (Berlin, Germany)

"This male dress is the creator woman inside of me; playing, being magician, honoring my eros, my energies, letting them flow with grace and style, adding a little bit of gender question into it for people to reflect. Being true to myself. Praying that all of us women will have the chance for this journey of freedom. Unfolding, unleashing. Coming back to our womb and our force of nature.

My name is Lisa Riesner and I was born and raised in South Germany. I am the younger sister and I grew up with a lot of strong women around me. I am currently an actress, an acting and life coach."