The expected results of this project include:
To produce research on women, photography and resistance in the Netherlands and in South Africa that will bring to light experiences of and strategies for non-violent resistance to repressive regimes
➢ To illuminate how photographs can be used to document human rights abuses and advocate for social justice
➢ To draw attention to the critical and largely unrecognised work of women who have resisted repressive regimes, and in this way, to address gender inequality and encourage the interest and involvement of young women in research
➢ To expand the research fields of feminist historiography, visual studies and histories of resistance
➢ To make this research publicly accessible through publications, an exhibition, workshops, debate, and online media
➢ To form research networks between institutions in Europe and between individual researchers from across Europe, Africa and other places, including the Middle East, working on women, photography, resistance and social justice. This network will include researchers working on historical topics as well as women who are focusing on issues such as forced migration and violence in the present
➢ Technical training: the acquisition of new knowledge and technical expertise in archival photographic research and curation
The research conducted for this project casts light on how photographs can be used to document human rights abuses and advocate for social justice and achieves its aim of expanding the research fields of feminist historiography, visual studies and histories of resistance. The work conducted as part of the FEM-RESIST project has been made publicly accessible through research presentations at international conferences, workshops, research symposia and seminars; the project website; the publication of peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, and articles in popular media; an edited special issue of a journal focused on photography and resistance; and through an online exhibition.
As a feminist project that foregrounds and showcases the work of women, both in the past and in the present, this research contributes to the European Commission’s Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025, particularly the key objective of challenging gender stereotypes. This aspect of the project takes on additional significance in the light of the international backlash against women’s rights, including within the EU.
