In the ongoing photo series 'Silent Voices' I symbolically draw attention to gender inequality. Gender inequality is still one of the most systemic inequalities in the world. That fact is true for every culture, race or religion. Whether it is the gender pay gap, domestic violence, honor killings, genital mutilation or the stoning of rape victims, there is still a lot of work to be done. Everywhere. Recently, ISIS burnt 19 girls to death for refusing to have sex with the fighters. With prevalence rates as high as 91% in Egypt, 98% in Somalia and 96% in Guinea, female genital mutilation affects up to 140 million women and girls. The recent honor killing of Quandeel Baloch, a Pakistani social media celebrity, only scratches the surface with over 500 honor killings per year in Pakistan alone. And although in many countries it seems we have reached equality, recent events have shown that that might be a thin layer of veneer. In the meantime, girls everywhere are told to behave modestly as to avoid trouble. To walk the line. The subliminal message being that molestation and rape is their responsibility. It is not. These facts and many more, show that the struggle for equality is far from over. Or in the words of former US president Jimmy Carter: "There is a pervasive denial of equal rights to women, more than half of all human beings, and this discrimination results in tangible harm to all of us. It is the worst and most unaddressed human rights violation on Earth.†There are still a lot of silent voices. My wish is that they will all be heard.
