WOMEN IN CONFLICT
Over the course of the last decade, we’ve seen a fantastic selection of work on a huge variety of different conflicts and topics related to them. Below you will find a selection of pieces entered into our international competitions, by young people from around the world. This mini series is a good starting point when considering the many different ways conflict can affect people’s lives. We hope you will dive deeper into many of the topics and learn more.
Please be aware that the information below touches on topics related to war, conflict and its effects. It may therefore not be appropriate for all audiences.
THE EXPERIENCES OF WOMEN IN CONFLICT
Women in conflict have historically been ignored - their stories silenced, suffering overlooked and resilience under-acknowledged.
This project stoplights how young people interpret and honour the experiences of women in conflict through the creative arts - ensuring these voices are not only heard, but remembered.
the echoes of reformation
- heather (16-18, Canada)
ARTIST'S STATEMENT
My subject matter is about all women and girls in Afghanistan as they have been oppressed and denied fundamental human rights or freedom, which includes education, work, movement, and even clothing.
After the United States left Afghanistan in 2021, killing over 176,000 Afghans and 67,000 in Pakistan, the people were left without security. Thus, the Taliban came into power in August 2021, which led to women and girls having their rights systematically and legally stripped away. Taliban edicts “have denied girls from getting an education beyond the sixth grade and banned women from working for nongovernmental organizations,” but now women don't even have the right to “decide when to go and buy groceries” (Penn, 2024). These laws have only grown harsher over the years, as they banned women “from hearing one another’s voices and severing one of their last means of connection [as an Afghan minister said that] a woman’s voice is considered awrah… shouldn’t be heard in public, even by other women" (Moaven 2024).
Hence with a surge of interest, I wish to bring further awareness and attention to allow their voices to be heard, while preventing future wars and demonstrating the consequences of conflicts.
shattered youth
- yejin (14-16, usa)
ARTIST'S STATEMENT
"Shattered Youth" is a drawing about the "comfort women", girls and women taken by force to provide sexual service during World War II to the Japanese Imperial Army. Through my work, I wanted to show the rights, freedom and youth of many girls and women that were "shattered" and broken as they were locked up, in their most beautiful time of life, and tortured in the stations.
a childhood of kindness, a future of peace
- milana (16-18, uzbekistan)
ARTIST'S STATEMENT
This painting states a powerful truth: the path to a peaceful future begins with the way we raise our children today. A young girl stands between two worlds—one flourishing with life, the other consumed by war. She holds a radiant light, a symbol of kindness, hope, and innocence. This light is not just a fragile glow; it is a force strong enough to push back against darkness, proving that love and compassion can overcome destruction. The stark contrast between the two sides highlights a crucial message: war is not inevitable. It is the result of choices, and those choices begin in childhood. If we raise children with love instead of hatred, with understanding instead of fear, they will grow into adults who build bridges, not battlefields. The green, vibrant side of the painting is a vision of what the world can become if we raise children in kindness—free from violence, filled with unity. This painting urges us to invest in the next generation, to teach them peace through our actions, our words, and our love. Because a childhood shaped by kindness creates not just a better future—but a future without war.
lotus flower
- Jiin (14-16, united states)
An elderly woman in the park
Keeps her head down as she drearily sweeps the floor After a tiring day she returns to her house
A slum, all alone in the dark crowded space
The permanent bruises from the beatings of the Japanese soldiers The lost childhood after the coercion into slavery The stolen freedom as a captive in a foreign country The irreversible trauma of being a comfort woman.
The end of gunshots, the end of war
The continued shame, the continued pain
Living as a nameless outcast
By her neighbors and the enemy
A glimpse of hope
The ray of light shone through the barred windows Turns into a series of camera flashes
In a conference room filled with reporters
“I am Kim Hak-soon, a former 'Comfort Woman', and I am not the one who should be ashamed.”
Her name as living evidence
Her body as a battlefield
A fearless pebble thrown into a calm pond
Breaking the silence of the Japanese atrocities
Causing a ripple effect that inspired other victims to stand up Making her story as a weapon to drive changes in the world
A lotus flower
Rises from mud without stain
Blooms at every dawn
And retires to the murky water each dusk
Though always stepped back into the dark
They will rise again
Fighting for their justice
Reborn with more strength and resilience
POEM DESCRIPTION
Kim Hak-soon is the first comfort woman who testified in 1991. ‘Comfort Woman’ refers to women (mainly Korean) during World War II who were coerced into sexual slavery by the Japanese military. They were repeatedly raped to “motivate as well as reward” the Japanese soldiers. For the rest of her life, she was an activist against the Japanese government, who refused to apologize and acknowledge the existence of comfort women. When the surviving comfort women were offered art therapy, many of them painted lotus flowers, stating that it symbolizes their life. Though they are constantly pushed back by the Japanese, these women arise from the “mud” every time. To Kim Hak-soon, war could be defined as injustice and resilience. The wrongfully abused victims managed to stay strong and stood firm in their ground.
napalm girl
- diana (16-18, RUSSIA)
ARTIST'S STATEMENT
The photo, which finished the war. That’s what we usually hear about the famous picture of Kim Phook. In the photo, we can see the emaciated, 13-year-old, naked, Vietnamese girl. Her village has just been destroyed by napalm bombs. Miraculously she survived. In the photo, she is following the road and shouting. Her thin body is harmed, and she has third-degree burns.
She’s a symbol of the extreme violence of the war. When you look at my artwork you can’t look away from her. So, you must experience some of her pain. Only after the photo did society and government strongly realise the necessity of stopping the war, therefore I depicted them in the artwork.
pioneer
- leah (14-16, USA)
ARTIST'S STATEMENT
For this piece, I was inspired by my voice. Many refer to my voice as soft and quiet, so I wanted to create an oil painting that depicted me as the opposite, shouting. In relation to the theme,we can prevent future wars by speaking out and using our words rather than our weapons. Wars are often caused from a dispute over ideas, so by solving these ideas, we can reach a new state of peace throughout nations.
Thank you to our supporters:
