Vision Spring Initiative has emphasised the need for women’s sexual and reproductive rights to be respected and protected. This was at the Sexual and Reproductive Health and Right Art Exhibition in Lagos. At the event, seven creative artists exhibited arts telling stories around sexual and reproductive health and right of women.
Programmes Officer, Policy and Advocacy, Vision Springs Initiatives, Mary Udoh, stressed the need for people who are marginalised by laws and policies to have rights and are protected. “The event is about the choices and body autonomy, where women have right to make choices about themselves. What the next step is for a girl who has been sexually abused and other actions.”
She noted that the Initiative is also working towards dispelling and demystifying stigma associated with women’s health. Udoh charged young girls to put their health first, knowing that sexual health is a human right and they decide what happens or who has access to their bodies.
Art Curator, Vision Spring Initiatives, Olasunkanmi Akisanmi, said the art exhibition shed light on how to take care of the female reproductive system by combining advocacy with paintings. He noted that available information on early pregnancy and sex is not sufficient which limits people knowledge on how to safeguard themselves. He urged young girls to have courage, be inquisitive and unafraid, noting that such qualities will help them protect themselves.Â
One of the Artist, Christopher Agom, said his art, titled ‘The Tunes of Wisphers’ is a testament to the struggle women face in the society and a clarion call for people to lend their voices to curtail challenges women face.
The art depicted a teenage girl whose voice is suppressed and her sexual and reproductive rights truncated. Explaining the art, he said, “In the midst of the blue sky is a teenage girl clothed in a mustard dress with ruffles around her chest signifying the simplicity of a bygone era. Her hands shackled by chains symbolises the oppressive forces of government policies, religious dogmas and societies misconception. All of these suppresses her voice and truncates her reproductive rights.”
