“Women’s Woes” of “Universality of Patriarchy”(above)
by Pinki Kumari, Mithila Art Institute
2004
Madhubani District
Ethnic Arts Foundation
Used by permission.
The woman in the center is crying, because going form left to right, whether Christian, Muslim, Hindu, or Sikh – represented by the four men – all of their societies are patriarchal. What this means to her (above her head) is that (from the left) she is under a man’s foot/control, they drink/get drunk, she has to care for the children, prepare the food, and wash and clean everything. On the upper left the man spends his time drinking. At the lower left the boy gets to study, while in the lower right the young girl only gets to dream of studying, and instead, in the upper right, is closed in the house, in tears. And even when she thinks about books (in the upper right of the yellow circle), they get literally torn out of her hands. I am not sure what the clasped hands in the blue and the frame are intended to convey, but perhaps the need for solidarity among women.” – David Szanton, Ethnic Arts Foundation.
The Fridge Art Society 