A photography exhibit conveying women’s lives in central Mali and their resistance to jihadist efforts to impose despotic law will open at Princeton University’s Bernstein Gallery in Robertson Hall on Friday, Dec. 16 with a reception at 6 p.m.
The exhibit, “A Quiet Defiance: Women Resisting Jihad in Mali,” will be open to the public through January 26, 2017. The exhibit and reception are sponsored by Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.
This photographic exploration of women’s lives in central Mali shows the vibrant culture that resisted jihadist efforts to impose despotic law in 2012. Twenty-five large, bright photographs reveal the spirit of the strong women as they carried on with school, work, sports and weddings despite the abuse they suffered. “A Quiet Defiance” captures the resilience as well as the dignity and beauty of women in Mali.
Mali, a country of 14 million people in West Africa long known for its ancient Islamic history and modern culture, was threatened with destruction when jihadist militants took over cities in 2012. With the imposition of retrograde law, women were severely punished, forced to wear hijabs and burkas and banished from school and work. When an international coalition pushed out the jihadists in 2013, a fragile peace ensued. That is when photographer Katie Orlinsky travelled to Bamako, the capital, and to Timbuktu—500 miles away on the edge of the Sahara—to meet the women of Mali and share their stories.
Orlinsky is a photographer and journalist who works regularly for The New York Times, The New Yorker and The Wall Street Journal. She studied political science at Colorado College before earning a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University and attending The Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture.
