I raise up my voice โ not so that I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heardโฆ We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back.
โ Malala Yousafzai
Discover a selection of Powerful Creations from the last years
Participants are established and emerging artists using different tools and forms of expression like photography, painting, sculpture, digital and mixed media, dance, theater, film, Make-up and others, to contribute their unique piece for the Program and inspire awareness and change.
Hem Vanna – Short Documentary –
Title: Where do I belong?
New Cambodian Artists – Dance performance, Title: Kin Lang Satray
Kramuon Khmer Team – Animation Video
Inspiring Artworks from Cambodian Creators
Discover the creative journey behind the final Exhibition, illustrating the powerful messages against domestic violence and gender inequality.
This Video was created during our Event in 2024.
Roun Chanthou
Roun Chanthou, a sculpture art student, is passionate about creating symbolic artworks on paper using a mix of colored pencils, watercolors, and other decorative materials. Her artwork called: โIf she was your relative?โ reflects different problems women and girls face, including abandonment, feelings of insecurity, or being the target for attack.
This work serves as a call to society to stop victim-blaming and to eliminate violence against women and girls. It emphasizes the importance of respecting, valuing, and ensuring both the physical and mental safety of women and girls. The artist particularly calls for a change in the mindset of those who commit acts of violence against women and girls and inspires survivors to speak about their experiences.
photography by METH Monthary
Gender Expression
a studio portrait photography project depicting the stigmatized and oppressive experience of cis-gender women and men, and especially the LGBTIQ+ community regarding their gender expression.
Gender Expression refers to the presence of an individual’s gender through outward appearances, or as we can see on the outside, such as dressing, grooming or hairdressing, use of personal belongings, use of accessories and include behavioral expressions, such as talking, use of names or a tendency to use other things that others may see.
METH Monthary (he/they, 28y) identifies himself as a homo nonbinary. He is currently working freelance in documentary photography, graphic designing, field research, and videography. Besides all the jobs, he is also an LGBTIQ+ activist based in Cambodia and affiliated with other LGBTIQ+ networks in Southeast Asian countries. Seeing the matter of gender expression has been less emphasized, his main focus in nowadays LGBTIQ+ activism is to be a part addressing the oppression of gender expression that LGBTIQ+ face every day.ย
This project aims to invite gender advocates and the public to take a deeper look into gender-based violence on how restrictive gender roles and norm cause stigma and oppression on gender expression of cis-gender women and men, and the LGBTIQ+ community. The project was funded by the Dignity Project for Gender Equality 2023 of the Cambodian NGO Committee on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (NGO CEDAW).
Heak Pheary
Heak Pheary is a talented Artist who’s sculptures, were created with children from rural villages. Together they collected and shared the stories of women who have suffered domestic violence.
My Right
Contemporary dance by Mayurak Dance Team
Sin Mao Theang, Chhit Sreyda,ย and their seven other group members, who are university students majoring in different fields of art, form a group calledย โMayurak.โย Guided by a skilled art teacher, they participate in the project using a contemporary dance performance titledย โMy Rights.โย This dance uses elements of traditional and modern dance, creating a unique and romantic style that illustrates different forms of gender-based discrimination against women and LGBTQ+ individuals. Through four distinct performances, they reflect social realities, blending text and poetry to create an engaging context. These performances convey the painful experiences of women and LGBTQ+ individuals and call for the elimination of all forms of gender-based discrimination.
A Film by Laor Media โ San Lynareach
Hear My Voice?
San Lynareach,ย a professional filmmaker, along with his freelance team membersย Duch Sreyphanin, Max Monica,ย andย Kong Raksmey,ย produced a short film titledย โHear My Voice? My Voice Can Change the World.โย This film features real stories about the social challenges young people face in the digital age, particularly gender-based violence on social media.
The educational film examines the causes of gender-based violence and provides clear solutions, aiming to raise awareness among Cambodian people. It equips viewers with effective ways to protect themselves and serves as a tool for promoting womenโs and girlsโ empowerment and gender equality. The production features innovative layout techniques, cinematography, and Art House storytelling.
Dara – 3 Mirror Paintings
This story is taken from the scene in the Holy History of Preah Vesandar in one of his many life times before he was enlightened and became Buddha, where he donated his two beloved children to Brahmim, Ta Ju-Juak
The summary of the Holy History of Preah Vesandar, For the painting on the mirror, โCharityโ
Dara chose to select this particular scene for this old myth of a religion reflects the lack of involvement from a spouse in decision making, and of course the squeezing pressure parents mark on their children.
The Nun’s Path by Mona Simon
A Series of photographed observations and a Short Documentary reflecting on the inequality between Nuns and Monks in Cambodia.
Kosorl, whose name means โvirtueโ in Pali, knew even as a child that she wanted to become a nun. After her parents separated, her mother decided to live in the pagoda, taking her young son with her, but her daughter stayed with her grandmother and was not allowed to follow the rest of her family into the monastery until she was 13. Kosorl remembers her first encounter with little monks well, who awakened in her the desire to be a child-monk as well. However, she was denied this wish because she was a girl. Despite this experience, or perhaps because of it, she held on to her desire to become a nun, but not like her mother, who, after separating from her father, decided to dedicate her life to monastic life and monks. Kosorl is the first Cambodian nun to go to Sri Lanka and study Pali and Buddhism at the university in Colombo. She also decided there to change the color of her robe from Cambodian white to Sri Lankan sapphire red. There she experienced a new form of equality. In the meantime, she is back in Cambodia, where she teaches and considers the lives of Cambodian nuns through her masterโs thesis and PHD.
To be a nun in Cambodia is not easy says Kosorl.
Cambodian nuns have the function of supporting the male monks to live their spiritual lives โ they are servants, workers or caregivers. The young Buddhist nun Kosorl, questions this system and searches for an alternative in order to be able to play a self-confident role in her spiritual life. She naturally takes the liberty to consider her way the right one.
Tumnuenh โ Seng Reaksmey
My Dear Friend
Tumnuenh Writers (TNW) is a group of independent writers who are dedicated to publish short stories and novels to promote particular writing attributes which have been severely ignored in the local literature work yet.
Seng Reaksmey is a BA graduate, a writer, producer and a filmmaker. Before participating in theย Dignity Cambodia Projectย by NGO-CEDAW, she had written a number of screenplays for Television, Advertisement content, Film and several unpublished short stories and novel manuscripts.ย
Read the novel here: Click Link
My Dear Friend is a psychological thriller novella features two garment factory workers share their experiences of domestic violenceย and became best friend who save each other from miserable life and surviving from both physical and emotional pain. The story purpose to get reader understand the feelings of vulnerable people who are suffering and no opportunity to seek justice. I hope this story could spread more awareness of victims feelings and to get them gain more attention and a chance to heal. ย
Value and Commitment
Seap Samnang,ย an architect and drawing teacher at a private school, andย Phon Dola, an accountant, collaborated to create a multimedia art piece made from recycled storyboard titledย โValue andย Commitment.โย
This artwork uses bottle caps and cans to depict the stories of two women living near a garbage dump, who have experienced discrimination and struggled in their lives. The creation of this work aims to inspire these women while encouraging others in similar circumstancesย to persevere in chasing their dreams.
Filmed Contents
Dignity Cambodia
Art for Gender Equality
Together we are more – แ
แแแแบแแแฝแแแถแ
แ
by Sreymom Mab
Solidarity among Women, is powerful. Look around, pay attention, you will never know how just a little help can make a difference in someone’s life.
Straightforward – แแแแแแแ
แแแแแแแ by
Pin Samnang and Chhun Bunchhai
The video aims to reflect how a young woman faces verbal threats and harassment in public, and how she responds to those immediate verbal threats.
Where do I belong by Hem Vanna
featuring transgender woman SAO Rithy who performs traditional Cambodian Apsara dance.
New Cambodian Artists – Dance performance, Title: Kin Lang Satray
A joyous wedding preparation โ celebrating a new chapter in a young wifeโs as she steps into the unknown with anxious excitement. Stuck in abusive structures โ the pain and suffering is hidden behind feminine beauty and a smile. But once the line is crossed too many times, the pain can be ignored no longer. Taking a stand โ finding strength and courage, united as one, to have a voice and say โno more violenceโ.
Face Painting “Freedom of Darkness” by Vart Van
“Vart Van, a freelance professional makeup artist, singer, actor, and model, has created a facial painting and video project portraying the experiences of survivors after enduring violence. The Artwork, called โFreedom of Darknessโ captures one of the darkest moments of their lives, reflecting on how society and people can at times be unpredictable and unkind. The project emphasizes the need for greater consideration and care, reminding us of our duty to protect victims, especially those without the voice or power to escape violence and abuse. It highlights the reality that many of these victims are women, calling for collective action to support and empower them.
“Mayurak” dance’s team, performing their contemporary dance titled, “My rights”
Arranged Marriage by Artist team Run Puthkunthea, Gnor Prahhna, Hen ChhanNita and Long Chamnap.
My Story By: Malin Annie & Harper
Humans consists of stories. Our stories define us as human beings. They define how we act and behave, how we look at the world, and how we treat people around us. Some stories are hard to talk about. We keep them secret because of shame and fear, or because of traumas that make it difficult for us to explain them in words. The stories that are the most difficult to tell are often the stories that are most important to listen to. These stories teach us things we didnโt already know, they force us to see new perspectives, and they create dialogues that we can use to make our society better. โMy Storyโ embraces this belief by giving voice to some of these stories. By doing so we are lifting them from the darkness and putting them in the light – where they deserve to exist in dignity. It is up to us to create a judgment-free culture that gives the people around us the chance to tell their stories – your story and my story.
Invisible Chains by Run Puthkunthea, Nhor Prahhna, Hen ChanNita and Long Chamnap
My Hero by Tim Rachana and Ty Kanha
A short educational animation about the effects of childhood trauma.
Tim Rachana and Ty Kanha, share a common desire to support the next generation of youth to gain self-confidence through storytelling and writing.
Ending violence against women starts with you!
This short animated film shares a story about violence within intimate relationships (sexual, emotional and physical) The Kramuon Khmer team includes: Thy Heang, media, communications, design and knowledge management Sam Daro, art director Ket Monyreak, lead graphic designer.
Women are GOLD
Mona Simon initiated โDignity Cambodiaโ in 2015, with this Project which she titled, Women are Gold.
โWomen are like a white cloth, Men are like goldโ is a well-known Cambodian proverb, which Mona Simon uses as a basis here and flips around. This Body of work aims to give victims of domestic violence a voice and a beautiful reflection of their true indestructible value = cloth in gold. For this, she met victims in photo studios in Phnom Penh, normally the settings for opulently staged wedding photos. The women were elaborately made up and coiffed and present themselves in precious golden dresses: Alone, without their husbands, self-empowered. The marks and scars of their experiences of violence are visible, even if they are obscured by golden trim, but the self-empowerment they have reclaimed through sharing their stories speaks from their faces.