Speak Up Women need to speak up. Something that has been on my mind for a very long time is that women don’t talk about their problems. While some other women speak much louder, make their voices heard, and speak openly about the unpleasant situations they are in. It doesn’t matter what happens. Maybe the problem won’t even get solved. But the point is that women need to learn to stand up for their rights and speak openly about their needs. They shouldn’t think that because of their gender, if they speak too much, they will be labeled. Well, let them. It doesn’t matter at all. We are here. We are the community of women. It is this community of women that accepts being labeled by others and stays silent because of the fear of being labeled. As long as we don’t try to change this culture and demand our own rights, nothing will change. We need to increase our knowledge. Things are not always ideal for us. Whether it’s at work, in a relationship with a partner, or in any other situation. In every situation, as a woman, I first need to learn to be clear about what I want. First, I need to be clear with myself, and then communicate what I mean to other people. The fear of cancel culture, or the fear of being labeled, will never lead to cultural change. Women who speak up create that culture, not women who choose to remain silent. Women need to speak up. ⸻ About the Artwork & Creation Process This artwork is the result of a collaboration between two like-minded artists, Nastaran Najafi and Nastaran Taghdimi. The main reference for this artwork is a photograph taken by Nastaran Najafi in northern Iran. The people in the image were painted by Nastaran Taghdimi using the Japanese Sumi-e painting technique. After that, Nastaran Najafi combined the paintings with the photograph and finalized the artwork. The glitch effect and the GIF animation were also created with the help of AI. Artists: Nastaran Najafi & Nastaran Taghdimi Photography: Nastaran Najafi Painting: Nastaran Taghdimi — Sumi-e technique Composition & Finalization: Nastaran Najafi Glitch & GIF Animation: AI-assisted Format: GIF Dimensions: 1536*1024 — Horizontal