VICE, the world’s largest independent youth media agency and 1st for Women Insurance recently teamed up to create WOMANHOOD, a film that highlights the women of South Africa, and their stories.
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#AmINext Movement
“In the wake of the #AmINext movement, we asked the question – what does it mean to be a woman in South Africa today? The answers from a broad cross-section of South African women revealed that we are more than our statistics and our challenges. We are more than the headlines that dominate the global narrative. We are not victims or survivors but a nation of ‘thrivers’. WOMANHOOD gives a voice to South African women and showcases the stories that connect us as women,” says Casey Rousseau from 1st for Women Insurance.
The film, created by VICE’s creative agency Virtue, provides an authentic narrative on the societal issues facing women in South Africa.
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WOMANHOOD: The story
“We developed WOMANHOOD as a visual and audio tapestry that documents the complex narratives that shape life as a South African women. The film digs in deep to many societal issues from freedom, barriers and body to motherhood, identity, pain and the future. It goes beyond the trivial stereotypical clichés that women are often bound by. It represents the ‘average’ South African woman, but also the women that are not often given a platform or voice,” says Ciaran Bonass, Executive Creative Director, VICE MENA.
The film was developed on the back of research conducted by VICE and 1st for Women that brought about the statement – ‘not yet’.
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‘Not yet’
“‘Not yet’ is an answer we often heard when we asked women if they, or a family member, had ever experienced abuse of any kind. ‘Not yet’ singularly defines the expectancy and acceptance of abuse of women in South Africa,” says Rousseau.
Beyond abuse, the film sets out to address many other micro-issues including self-barriers, gender-based workplace issues, the importance of male parenting, sexuality and many more fears which contribute to the larger systemic and patriarchal issues of gender-based violence in the country.
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