The photograph “Blossom” confronts the brutal reality of infibulation: a practice defined as “tradition” in many cultures, which suppresses women’s autonomy over their bodies.
The title contrasts the image, symbolizing the blossoming of societal awakening.
At the center a stitched tulip (forced closed, its beauty stifled) is held by a stylized woman demanding viewers to look at this crime.
She embodies women reclaiming their femininity and freedom.
The tulip’s shift from green to red underscores the young age victims endure these acts, while ironically invoking the red tulip’s association with “pure love”: a distorted notion framing sacrifice for men as virtue.
Instead, the crude, uneven stitches expose the barbarity of the practice, mimicking the primitive tools used.
The vivid, jarring tulip serves as a visceral alarm, forcing attention to a reality many women endure daily.
It stands as a stark metaphor for systemic control of female bodies, urging global recognition and action.
Through its unsettling beauty, the work challenges cultural complicity, refusing to let such violence be obscured.
“Blossom” is both a condemnation and a call to dismantle oppressive traditions, advocating for women’s right to bodily freedom and dignity: a plea to stop this and other forms of gendered oppression.
