As an exciting bonus, please see page two of the newspaper article, for a community invite to a special treat!

Enjoy,

Cheyenne

Thank you,

Milena

Anna's vitality faded with age, but her love for her three children remained. She hid them from their father's storm in the shadows, believing her sacrifice would be rewarded one day. But things never got better. Last week, her community attended her burial. Richard had assaulted her wife to death. The townspeople were left with a disbelieve; gender-based violence had taken one of their own. Her three children have now been left without a mother and no one to protect them from the cruelty of their father.

Anna's death inspired change by reminding everyone that saying "no" to gender-based violence. It is no longer a sad story. I hope Anna's death will become a beacon of hope—a voice for those in abusive marriages to speak up. I am also motivated to promote a program to break the cycle of silence and violence that has plagued our communities for a long. As affirmed by Nikupeteri et al. (2020), using art-based pieces can help promote awareness of crucial societal elements. Let's not wait for another case before blowing the whistle. Policymakers, social workers, and relevant bodies should take collective action to promote the welfare of GBV. It is not just women, as everyone can be a victim. Speak out! And say no to staying in an abusive relationship!

Anna's story resonated well with a poem I read online. It is a poem by Paulette Kelly titled "I Got Flowers Today." The poem is dedicated to battered women and narrates a similar story of a woman who stayed in an abusive marriage. The woman received some flowers. It was not an anniversary or a birthday gift. The couple had an argument, and the husband brought her flowers to apologize. "Last night, he threw me into a wall and started to choke me. / It seemed like a nightmare" (Kelly 9,10).In disbelief, she could not accept her husband would be a tormenter. Like most women, the victim said in the abusive marriage, hoping things to get better. He hoped he was sorry since he sent some flowers (Kelly 14, 15). The victim received her last flowers, it was her burial. "Last night he killed me. If only I would have gathered the courage and strength to leave him, I could have received help from the Women's Shelter, but I didn't ask for their help." The poem also serves as a powerful tool to educate on gender-based violence. Women should not stay in abusive relationships but speak out and ask for help.

The exercise helps shed light on how art can pass a message and create Advocacy on pressing topics. I used to think I needed huge resources to bring a change in society. The process helped me realize how I can utilize art to pass a message. However, developing the art was a bit challenging. I struggled to develop a kind of art that would reflect the message that I wanted to pass. I was able to find a story from a movie that showed the struggles women go through while in abusive relationships. I built on this story to create a story of a woman undergoing GBV and developed a catalog to pass anti gender violence message. I hope to share the message to my colleagues and other members of the society through social media. I believe social media to be a powerful tool for reaching a wide range of audiences more conveniently. It can be a direct effort to persuade policymakers to collectively protect the rights of the most vulnerable within the society.

By Mojisola Alli