Precious
"In my culture, growing up being a girl, you are raised to be a woman. They tell you how a lady should be. They are preparing you for marriage. They say, ‘If you do this, no man will want to marry you. You have to be a good lady.’ I want to show that girls are not property or trophies to parents. When you get married, parents are given cows or land. I want to show that it should not be like that, we women are not property.
On sexuality, we have the right to choose who we love and we have the right to be who we are. We are not supposed to be stamped on or stepped on. For example, if they find out that you like girls, in the blink of an eye they will find a man for you to get married to, and it is not right for a girl to be exported like that. The same for men, if they are gay. I want our parents and family members to know that we have the right to be who we are."
I was/ I am/ I will be
Rella's photos:
This project was in collaboration with Autograph and Fast Forward: Woman in Photography. We are so grateful for their support in making this happen! Find out more about the project and how to purchase the book, Putting Ourselves in the Picture, here.