Tuesday Ethnography Assignment

The issue I chose for this intermedia project assignment was sort of a take on women’s human rights issues in the Middle East, specifically the victims of acid attacks. Women’s rights in the Middle East has been a topic I’ve been interested in and concerned about since my junior year of high school when I chose “The Treatment of Afghan Women Under Taliban Rule” as the topic of my research paper, but this issue is also relevant to today because of the acid attacks that happened to two British teenagers in Zanzibar last month. My stance on this issue is, of course, advocating in favor of women’s rights. This issue is also a timely one on that the region where it primarily occurs, the Middle East, is currently undergoing a lot of political and social upheaval and reform; the stakes are high, and the consequences of failure are brutal, especially for women. The leaders of these countries, as well as the leaders of the world, have a duty and responsibility to defend women’s rights with action and policy, not just lofty rhetoric. Will the Middle East become a region that empowers women, or one that oppresses them? Now is the time for change.

            The stance I took for my performance was to shed light on the seriousness of the issue. I wanted to create a sort of somber, almost vigil-like atmosphere to honor the victims of these attacks, which I did by dimming the lights and “lighting” a candle (which was really a battery-powered LED candle). I introduced my topic with a news report about these attacks, and then I went into the “vigil” part of my performance. I created a slide show of pictures of acid attack victims, which I set to an Islamic prayer for mourning. I had all this playing quietly in the background while I read the story of one of the victims of these attacks, Sonali. Afterwards, I paused for a moment of silence and reflection and had the candle passed around the room.

            Another perspective I could use for taking in this issue could be to tell the victim’s story from their point of view, or to read it in first person. Or, instead of taking an emotional approach, I could approach this issue from a more political standpoint, focusing on the human rights injustices. I could wear a blazer to make myself look like a politician and give a briefing of the issue to the class, kind of like the press conferences they give on Capitol Hill. Similarly, I could wear a blazer but also use a microphone as a prop and give my presentation like I was a reporter or a journalist doing the news.

            For the political perspective, I would change the media by using props, such as a blazer or microphone or podium, to incorporate tactile media, as well as project a picture of the Capitol building or a conference room in the background. For the news perspective, I would change the media by also using props, like the blazer and microphone, and I would also play a clip of news footage about acid attacks.