Tehniyet Hussain

Behind the Doors - Marital Rape. Mixed media. 26 x 18 x 6 inches. 2010

My work focuses on social injustices specifically inflicted upon women, all over the globe. Historically, women have endured violence without uttering a word of discontent. Even today, most of the societies are bound by archaic patriarchal traditions. Rape within marriage is one of the most prevalent, yet the most under-reported, form of violence against women. This crime is committed within the secured boundaries of home, not only harming the victim physically, but leaving her without honor or dignity.

Bara Jichova

Boundaries occur in the “box” of monogamous marriage, and are supplanted by a new triangular boundary. Adultery brings excitement and the illusion of freedom, even as new boundaries are created: the external boundaries of an affair’s physical space, and the internal boundaries of falling in love to avoid the pain. In longing for a life beyond the ordinary, hoping to gain the lost and to love through the other, the lovers find themselves in even smaller box of restrictions, with the same lack of freedom, hurting each other.