Which approach will you adopt when given the opportunity to influence social and cultural change in your local community through communication? Music and dance, drama, poetry, or fashion?
With the help of social media, many young citizens across the globe are contributing in divers ways towards making the world a better place for all humans.
Metion can be made of Greta Thunberg, a teenage climate change activist who has taken over the world by surprise, advocating for urgent solutions to mitigate the phenomenon of climate change and global warming.
But even before the world woke up to environmental problems like climate change, humanity have lived with and continue to live with cultural and behaviorl practices that threatens both the happiness and survival of myriad of people all over the world.
In Africa for instance, there is female genital mutilation, child marriage, and obnoxious widowhood rites. There is also economic exploitation of children termed as child labor. And of course sexual exploitations or abuse are also not uncommon.
Just like Greta Thunberg for climate change, the world is experiencing rising advocacy against the aforementioned social and cultural vices being led by a number of young people.
One of these individuals is Laetitia Ky. Ky is a 26 year old Ivorian, born and bred in Abidjan. As a person who has been a victim herself, Ky has taken the responsibility of speaking against all forms of violent abuse and prejudices against the vulnerable, particularly women.
With wires and natural hair, Ky makes hair sculptures which are important tools for shedding light on stories of abuse being suffered by women. Beyond her personal stories and experience, Ky’s social media platform has become a “safe haven” where women in her country and across the world could share their bitter experiences.
From rape to defilement, and abusive relationships and marriages, Ky is unrelentingly shaping the narrative using the basic materials and social media. No wonder her efforts are being recognized in different forms including national awards.
In the photo below for example, Ky models the story of how a teenage girl was sexually abused by a group young boys and how that affected her growing up.
In the next photo, Ky captures the emotionally fustrating story of a young lady who became a victim of sexual exploitation as she struggled to earn a living and live an independent life. Her boss, who saw her as an object of satisfaction engaged in this activity until she was forced to resign.
Whilst Ky’s hair sculptures may not seek justice for the thousands of these victims across the world, it is certainly a perfect way of telling the story as it is with the hope of influencing behavioral and cultural changes.
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