Visual vandalism rife in Khartoum: who is trying to make women faceless?
While the motives are not entirely clear, the message is ominous: some men think they can degrade the opposite sex with impunity.
The young women pictured are wearing typical Sudanese attire: skirts, blouses and head coverings. They appear with various hairstyles in beauty shop windows, or on ad posters and billboards. But gaping holes or splashes of black paint appear where the women’s faces should be.
This form of gender-based vandalism is visible throughout the Sudanese capital.
How far is it from assaults on women's faces in photographs to physical violence?In one prominent example, a large billboard ad for a major communication company portrays six singers - two women and four men. The faces of the females are sprayed with black paint, as if to wipe them out of public view.
What is it about the image of a woman’s facial features that drives some people to commit such acts of disrespect?
In Sudan and other regions, radical interpretations of Islam manifest in extreme gender discrimination. Proponents of Sharia law say any visual image of women is prohibited, regardless of the picture’s contents.
Other groups believe that any part of a woman's body is awrah, or sinful, and should be kept from public view. According to this philosophy, a woman is permitted go outside only twice in her life: from her father's house to her husband's, and from her husband’s house to her grave.
Not surprisingly, representatives of Islamic groups upholding such values did not respond to requests for interviews, since they are not known to speak to female journalists.
Dr. Yusuf al-Kudah, head of the Islamic Centrist Party (ICP), said he is opposed to the use of force to promote religious beliefs and that preaching is a preferable method.
But because he considers women erotic by nature, he thinks their appearance in advertisements should be permitted only if they are veiled.”
I think swords would be drawn if a Sudanese woman appeared in a TV ad for soap, toothpaste or face cream.”
Dr. Abdul-Rahim Bilal, a sociology professor, suggested the ads are most likely defaced by religious groups opposed to any form of art and the public presence of women.
On the other hand, the vandals may have no religious affiliation, but could be troubled individuals who refuse to come to terms with gender equality - even an aspect as simple as a woman’s right to be photographed for commercial ventures.
The vandals likely belong to organised groups supported by some ideologues within the ruling regime who espouse similar views,” Bilal said.
Bilal has called on the state to impose deterrent penalties for this type of gender-based aggression. None of the vandals has been apprehended so far.
A Khartoum beauty shop owner whose ad posters have been defaced said she suspects a group loyal to Ansar Al-Sunnah Al-Muhammadiyah, an Islamist group, of carrying out the vandalism late at night. She has not yet filed a complaint.
Authorities were unavailable to answer questions about their responsibilities to protect such property or their possible sponsorship of extremist religious groups opposed to women and visual art.
A woman identifying herself only as M. M. sees a troubling link between defacing images of females and gender-based attacks on real women.
The traditional Sudanese women's dress has changed over time. Illustration: Khalid AlbaihWomen of my country experience outrageous violence,” she said. They are raped in Darfur, murdered in the Nuba Mountains in Southern Kordofan, and circumcised. Why don’t you discuss these problems?"
Women's rights groups believe it is this kind of visual assault that symbolises a justification of physical attacks on women. They are urging authorities to take preventive measures.
Mona Tijani and Shati Ali, lawyers who are leaders of the Democratic New Forces Movement, or HAQ, denounce the image defacing as a form of discrimination against women in Sudanese society, adding that the faceless pictures convey a conviction that women should be subservient, if not invisible.
Noting that women are allowed to appear in TV ads in very limited cases, such as food and beverage commercials, Ms. Tijani said, I think swords will be drawn if a Sudanese woman appears in a TV ad for soap, toothpaste or face cream.”
While many condemn the symbolic attacks, others dismiss them as irrelevant. In any case, these gender-based insults are a clear indicator of social unease that could lead to more serious offenses if left unaddressed.
Editor: Alexa Dvorson
