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Samar Bushehri, the first Bahraini female graffiti artist, aims to draw attention to the violence women face through her vibrant street art.
The 28-year-old, who has been creating captivating artworks for the past eight years, has spray-painted a large mural in Manama ... to inspire hope in women who have experienced some form of abuse in their lives.
“This mural is themed around eliminating violence against women,” she said.
“Whatever happens to women not only affects them, but also impacts their family and the entire community.”
The special effects make-up artist was approached by the Bahrain Women’s Union to join their series of activities this month, dedicated to ending violence against women.
The mural and their events promote the International Day for Elimination of Violence against Women campaign, which started this year on November 25 and concluded on December 10, marked globally as International Human Rights Day.
UN Women analysed data from 13 countries since the outbreak of the pandemic and two in three women reported that they or a woman they knew experienced some form of violence. Only one in 10 women said that victims would go to the police for help.
“Women are always facing obstacles, whether to achieve equality, hope, peace, freedom and development,” said Samar, who is known for her ‘throw-up’ and ‘wild-style’ graffiti work.
In the graffiti world, a ‘throw-up’ is a complicated tag with two or more colours and bubble-style lettering. ‘Wild-style’ is a version of throw-up that can be complicated for non-graffiti artists to decipher and often consists of arrows, curves and spikes.
Filled with emotions, the artist sprayed an image of hands holding tight for ‘hope and justice’. Her choice of colours represent sorrow as well as connection.
“It took me five hours to complete the mural,” said the artist.
She has conducted several workshops recently and has a few more in the pipeline.
“I chose hands as an element of hope and justice that women are searching for.
“I added a lady on the left side of the hands and spray painted her black and white to represent the grief and sorrow that women are going through.
“There are colourful lines connecting both murals representing women hoping for better treatment against violence.
“It also depicts their right to live freely.
“I hope my mural adds an extra voice to those women in need. I want them to know that they don’t deserve to be beaten or treated violently and that we are all supporting them through our art, campaigns and activities.”
The Bahrain Women’s Union, a recognised entity by the kingdom that works towards achieving equality for women, and its youth committee, staged a series of art events dedicated to ending abuse against women.
Samar was delighted to join the Union on their campaign and urges others to use their voices to encourage equality while also eliminating forms of intimidation and aggression.
“Every person can deliver a message in his or her own unique way and I prefer murals for this purpose,” she said.
“My voice is being heard through my art. This is also a great opportunity to use social media, art and other platforms to help tackle this never-ending issue.”
For details, follow
@samarbushehri on Instagram.
