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Malala 1, Because I am a Girl 2015.jpg

Because I am a Girl (Malala and Plan)

In 2015, the team behind Femme Fierce (the World's Largest All Female Graffiti Street Festival) worked with Women of the World (WOW) and Plan International UK to create a series of murals against forced marriage. Over 150 female street artists took to the graffiti tunnel on Leake Street in Waterloo to support Plan UK’s fight against child and forced marriage. This project was part of Plan International’s worldwide campaign ‘Because I am a Girl’. The walls were painted blue to reflect Plan’s logo and then the female artists let their imagination run wild, painting their interpretations of ‘Because I am a Girl’.Plan International, which works to protect the rights of children, launched this campaign to fight for girls’ rights and gender equality. It is a youth-led, global movement that supports girls to take the lead and influence decisions that matter to them. The charity works on forced and child marriage throughout the world.

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Because I am a Girl (Girls Reload)

In 2015, the team behind Femme Fierce (the World's Largest All Female Graffiti Street Festival) worked with Women of the World (WOW) and Plan International UK to create a series of murals against forced marriage. Over 150 female street artists took to the graffiti tunnel on Leake Street in Waterloo to support Plan UK’s fight against child and forced marriage. This project was part of Plan International’s worldwide campaign ‘Because I am a Girl’. The walls were painted blue to reflect Plan’s logo and then the female artists let their imagination run wild, painting their interpretations of ‘Because I am a Girl’.Plan International, which works to protect the rights of children, launched this campaign to fight for girls’ rights and gender equality. It is a youth-led, global movement that supports girls to take the lead and influence decisions that matter to them. The charity works on forced and child marriage throughout the world.

Final Girl, Because I am a Girl 2015.jpg

Because I am a Girl (Final Girl)

In 2015, the team behind Femme Fierce (the World's Largest All Female Graffiti Street Festival) worked with Women of the World (WOW) and Plan International UK to create a series of murals against forced marriage. Over 150 female street artists took to the graffiti tunnel on Leake Street in Waterloo to support Plan UK’s fight against child and forced marriage. This project was part of Plan International’s worldwide campaign ‘Because I am a Girl’. The walls were painted blue to reflect Plan’s logo and then the female artists let their imagination run wild, painting their interpretations of ‘Because I am a Girl’.Plan International, which works to protect the rights of children, launched this campaign to fight for girls’ rights and gender equality. It is a youth-led, global movement that supports girls to take the lead and influence decisions that matter to them. The charity works on forced and child marriage throughout the world.

FGM, Because I am a Girl 2015.jpg

Because I am a Girl (FGM)

In 2015, the team behind Femme Fierce (the World's Largest All Female Graffiti Street Festival) worked with Women of the World (WOW) and Plan International UK to create a series of murals against forced marriage. Over 150 female street artists took to the graffiti tunnel on Leake Street in Waterloo to support Plan UK’s fight against child and forced marriage. This project was part of Plan International’s worldwide campaign ‘Because I am a Girl’. The walls were painted blue to reflect Plan’s logo and then the female artists let their imagination run wild, painting their interpretations of ‘Because I am a Girl’.Plan International, which works to protect the rights of children, launched this campaign to fight for girls’ rights and gender equality. It is a youth-led, global movement that supports girls to take the lead and influence decisions that matter to them. The charity works on forced and child marriage throughout the world.

Zina, Because I am a Girl 2015.jpg

Because I Am A Girl (Blue)

In 2015, the team behind Femme Fierce (the World's Largest All Female Graffiti Street Festival) worked with Women of the World (WOW) and Plan International UK to create a series of murals against forced marriage. Over 150 female street artists took to the graffiti tunnel on Leake Street in Waterloo to support Plan UK’s fight against child and forced marriage. This project was part of Plan International’s worldwide campaign ‘Because I am a Girl’. The walls were painted blue to reflect Plan’s logo and then the female artists let their imagination run wild, painting their interpretations of ‘Because I am a Girl’.Plan International, which works to protect the rights of children, launched this campaign to fight for girls’ rights and gender equality. It is a youth-led, global movement that supports girls to take the lead and influence decisions that matter to them. The charity works on forced and child marriage throughout the world.

Believe in Me 2015.jpg

Because I am a Girl (Believe in Me)

In 2015, the team behind Femme Fierce (the World's Largest All Female Graffiti Street Festival) worked with Women of the World (WOW) and Plan International UK to create a series of murals against forced marriage. Over 150 female street artists took to the graffiti tunnel on Leake Street in Waterloo to support Plan UK’s fight against child and forced marriage. This project was part of Plan International’s worldwide campaign ‘Because I am a Girl’. The walls were painted blue to reflect Plan’s logo and then the female artists let their imagination run wild, painting their interpretations of ‘Because I am a Girl’.Plan International, which works to protect the rights of children, launched this campaign to fight for girls’ rights and gender equality. It is a youth-led, global movement that supports girls to take the lead and influence decisions that matter to them. The charity works on forced and child marriage throughout the world.

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Because I am a Girl (artists)

In 2015, the team behind Femme Fierce (the World's Largest All Female Graffiti Street Festival) worked with Women of the World (WOW) and Plan International UK to create a series of murals against forced marriage. Over 150 female street artists took to the graffiti tunnel on Leake Street in Waterloo to support Plan UK’s fight against child and forced marriage. This project was part of Plan International’s worldwide campaign ‘Because I am a Girl’. The walls were painted blue to reflect Plan’s logo and then the female artists let their imagination run wild, painting their interpretations of ‘Because I am a Girl’.Plan International, which works to protect the rights of children, launched this campaign to fight for girls’ rights and gender equality. It is a youth-led, global movement that supports girls to take the lead and influence decisions that matter to them. The charity works on forced and child marriage throughout the world.

Because I am a Girl, Siany 2015.jpg

Because I am a Girl

In 2015, the team behind Femme Fierce (the World's Largest All Female Graffiti Street Festival) worked with Women of the World (WOW) and Plan International UK to create a series of murals against forced marriage. Over 150 female street artists took to the graffiti tunnel on Leake Street in Waterloo to support Plan UK’s fight against child and forced marriage. This project was part of Plan International’s worldwide campaign ‘Because I am a Girl’. The walls were painted blue to reflect Plan’s logo and then the female artists let their imagination run wild, painting their interpretations of ‘Because I am a Girl’.Plan International, which works to protect the rights of children, launched this campaign to fight for girls’ rights and gender equality. It is a youth-led, global movement that supports girls to take the lead and influence decisions that matter to them. The charity works on forced and child marriage throughout the world.

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Anti-Slavery Day

This mural was created on the wall of the People's Republic of Stokes Croft for Anti-Slavery Day on 12th October 2012. The PRSC was established in 2006 and is a community enterprise that aims to improve the landscape of Stokes Croft through direct action and creating a sense of identity.The mural highlights the forced sexual exploitation of women and girls. It states that '2 million women and girls imprisoned in the sex trade…you're probably standing within 5ft of one of them now'. It also provided a freephone helpline number.Unfortunately this mural no longer exists.

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9th Hour: Child Recruitment (football)

This piece is part of a series of murals led by the artist and activist Murad Subay, which was launched on 4th July 2013. The project discussed twelve political and social issues affecting Yemeni society, such as treason, corruption, civil war and child soldiers. Unfortunately many of the murals were vandalised after their completion. The murals were painted over a year and the artist painted a different topic each month. The murals created for '9th Hour' focused on the recruitment of children as soldiers and highlighted how many children are torn away from their families to die for a cause they don't understand. This mural shows a child soldier with a machine gun over his shoulder. He is looking down at the floor and a thought bubble shows that he is thinking about football, rather than being a soldier.

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9th Hour: Child Recruitment (devil)

This piece is part of a series of murals led by the artist and activist Murad Subay, which was launched on 4th July 2013. The project discussed twelve political and social issues affecting Yemeni society, such as treason, corruption, civil war and child soldiers. Unfortunately many of the murals were vandalised after their completion. The murals were painted over a year and the artist painted a different topic each month. The murals created for '9th Hour' focused on the recruitment of children as soldiers and highlighted how many children are torn away from their families to die for a cause they don't understand. This particular mural depicts a parent on the floor reaching for their child's hand, who is being taken away by a man with devil horns and a trident. The small girl is holding a machine gun and looking back at her family, demonstrating that both boys and girls can become child soldiers. 

Al-Alawi, 9th Hour.jpg

9th Hour: Child Recruitment (balloon)

This piece is part of a series of murals led by the artist and activist Murad Subay, which was launched on 4th July 2013. The project discussed twelve political and social issues affecting Yemeni society, such as treason, corruption, civil war and child soldiers. Unfortunately many of the murals were vandalised after their completion. The murals were painted over a year and the artist painted a different topic each month. The murals created for '9th Hour' focused on the recruitment of children as soldiers and highlighted how many children are torn away from their families to die for a cause they don't understand. This mural depicts a child dressed half in normal clothes and half in a military uniform or camouflage dress. On one side the boy holds a balloon and is smiling, but on the military side the balloon has gone, as has the smile. 

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8. Survivor - The Hunt for the Lost Durga

The organisation MISSING was founded by Leena Kejriwal and started as a public art project after years of working with NGOs such as Apne Aap, Hamari Muskan and New Light. As an artist, Kejriwal fought against human trafficking by creating installations in galleries that brought up the realities of sex trafficking. She felt that the world needed a new approach to tackling human trafficking and introduced MISSING as a four-part Art As Activism movement, the first of which was the MISSING Stencil Campaign. The Hunt for the Lost Durga is the first of a series of mural walks that MISSING is undertaking in its plan to engage the public with the issue of child trafficking. The murals were completed with the support of Shalimar Paints under their Colours for Change initiative. This mural walk is accompanied by an interactive Facebook messenger experience - the viewer can type 'Missing Mural Walk' into the search bar of the Facebook Messenger App then press 'Get Started' to be guided through the mural walk. The virtual guide asks the viewer which mural they can see and provides information about the mural and child trafficking, always ending with the question 'why wait for a girl to get trafficked to save her?' The virtual guide is still available and you can use it anywhere in the world. This is the eight and final piece in the mural walk titled 'Survivor.' The Durga has managed to escape, but her story does not end there. The virtual guide tells how sometimes girls cannot return home to their families and others are forced back on the run where they are at risk of being trafficked once again. This highlights how important it is to support survivors and provide them with alternative options to help them escape the world of trafficking. 

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7. Hidden in Plain Sight - The Hunt for the Lost Durga

The organisation MISSING was founded by Leena Kejriwal and started as a public art project after years of working with NGOs such as Apne Aap, Hamari Muskan and New Light. As an artist, Kejriwal fought against human trafficking by creating installations in galleries that brought up the realities of sex trafficking. She felt that the world needed a new approach to tackling human trafficking and introduced MISSING as a four-part Art As Activism movement, the first of which was the MISSING Stencil Campaign. The Hunt for the Lost Durga is the first of a series of mural walks that MISSING is undertaking in its plan to engage the public with the issue of child trafficking. The murals were completed with the support of Shalimar Paints under their Colours for Change initiative. This mural walk is accompanied by an interactive Facebook messenger experience - the viewer can type 'Missing Mural Walk' into the search bar of the Facebook Messenger App then press 'Get Started' to be guided through the mural walk. The virtual guide asks the viewer which mural they can see and provides information about the mural and child trafficking, always ending with the question 'why wait for a girl to get trafficked to save her?' The virtual guide is still available and you can use it anywhere in the world. This piece is the seventh in the mural walk, titled 'Hidden in Plain Sight'. The virtual guide tells the viewer that the Durga is now missing and states that 42% of India's trafficked people come from India. This mural highlights how modern slavery and human trafficking happens all around us, but is not always visible - it is hidden in plain sight. 

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6. The Black Hole - The Hunt for the Lost Durga

The organisation MISSING was founded by Leena Kejriwal and started as a public art project after years of working with NGOs such as Apne Aap, Hamari Muskan and New Light. As an artist, Kejriwal fought against human trafficking by creating installations in galleries that brought up the realities of sex trafficking. She felt that the world needed a new approach to tackling human trafficking and introduced MISSING as a four-part Art As Activism movement, the first of which was the MISSING Stencil Campaign. The Hunt for the Lost Durga is the first of a series of mural walks that MISSING is undertaking in its plan to engage the public with the issue of child trafficking. The murals were completed with the support of Shalimar Paints under their Colours for Change initiative. This mural walk is accompanied by an interactive Facebook messenger experience - the viewer can type 'Missing Mural Walk' into the search bar of the Facebook Messenger App then press 'Get Started' to be guided through the mural walk. The virtual guide asks the viewer which mural they can see and provides information about the mural and child trafficking, always ending with the question 'why wait for a girl to get trafficked to save her?' The virtual guide is still available and you can use it anywhere in the world. This piece is the sixth in the mural walk and is titled 'The Black Hole'. The virtual guide tells the viewer that the Durga is depressed and in a dark place, or a black hole, now she has been trafficked. She has been sold for Rs 5000, the average price of a 13 year old girl in India, meaning that she has been sold for less than 40kg of chicken. It also relays how 1.2 million girls and 3 million women are sold every year. 

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5. Durga On The Run - The Hunt for the Lost Durga

The organisation MISSING was founded by Leena Kejriwal and started as a public art project after years of working with NGOs such as Apne Aap, Hamari Muskan and New Light. As an artist, Kejriwal fought against human trafficking by creating installations in galleries that brought up the realities of sex trafficking. She felt that the world needed a new approach to tackling human trafficking and introduced MISSING as a four-part Art As Activism movement, the first of which was the MISSING Stencil Campaign. The Hunt for the Lost Durga is the first of a series of mural walks that MISSING is undertaking in its plan to engage the public with the issue of child trafficking. The murals were completed with the support of Shalimar Paints under their Colours for Change initiative. This mural walk is accompanied by an interactive Facebook messenger experience - the viewer can type 'Missing Mural Walk' into the search bar of the Facebook Messenger App then press 'Get Started' to be guided through the mural walk. The virtual guide asks the viewer which mural they can see and provides information about the mural and child trafficking, always ending with the question 'why wait for a girl to get trafficked to save her?' The virtual guide is still available and you can use it anywhere in the world. This piece is the fifth in the mural walk, and is titled 'Durga On The Run'. The virtual guide describes how many young girls are trafficked in India, stating that there has been 133% increase in number of young girls trafficked. While some girls may be able to escape by running away, they cannot run forever and the mural urges young girls to speak out to parents, teachers or policemen to tell them what's happened.

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4. You Can't Hear Me - The Hunt for the Lost Durga

The organisation MISSING was founded by Leena Kejriwal and started as a public art project after years of working with NGOs such as Apne Aap, Hamari Muskan and New Light. As an artist, Kejriwal fought against human trafficking by creating installations in galleries that brought up the realities of sex trafficking. She felt that the world needed a new approach to tackling human trafficking and introduced MISSING as a four-part Art As Activism movement, the first of which was the MISSING Stencil Campaign. The Hunt for the Lost Durga is the first of a series of mural walks that MISSING is undertaking in its plan to engage the public with the issue of child trafficking. The murals were completed with the support of Shalimar Paints under their Colours for Change initiative. This mural walk is accompanied by an interactive Facebook messenger experience - the viewer can type 'Missing Mural Walk' into the search bar of the Facebook Messenger App then press 'Get Started' to be guided through the mural walk. The virtual guide asks the viewer which mural they can see and provides information about the mural and child trafficking, always ending with the question 'why wait for a girl to get trafficked to save her?' The virtual guide is still available and you can use it anywhere in the world. This piece is the fourth in the mural walk and is titled 'You Can't Hear Me'. The mural depicts the Durga's mouth as below us and on the floor, symbolising the fact that we cannot hear what she is trying to say and she has no voice. It highlights how, even though many girls in India are becoming educated, their ambitions are being suppressed and opportunities for them to be self-reliant are squashed by system. The virtual guide notes how 'sometimes she is crying out for help but people cannot hear her'.

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3. Ten Faces of Patriarchy - The Hunt for the Lost Durga

The organisation MISSING was founded by Leena Kejriwal and started as a public art project after years of working with NGOs such as Apne Aap, Hamari Muskan and New Light. As an artist, Kejriwal fought against human trafficking by creating installations in galleries that brought up the realities of sex trafficking. She felt that the world needed a new approach to tackling human trafficking and introduced MISSING as a four-part Art As Activism movement, the first of which was the MISSING Stencil Campaign. The Hunt for the Lost Durga is the first of a series of mural walks that MISSING is undertaking in its plan to engage the public with the issue of child trafficking. The murals were completed with the support of Shalimar Paints under their Colours for Change initiative. This mural walk is accompanied by an interactive Facebook messenger experience - the viewer can type 'Missing Mural Walk' into the search bar of the Facebook Messenger App then press 'Get Started' to be guided through the mural walk. The virtual guide asks the viewer which mural they can see and provides information about the mural and child trafficking, always ending with the question 'why wait for a girl to get trafficked to save her?' The virtual guide is still available and you can use it anywhere in the world. This piece is the third in the mural walk and is titled 'Ten Faces of Patriarchy'. The virtual guide describes how the Durga is influenced by all of the people that she grows up around. The organisation maintains that in order to overthrow patriarchy, the people around young girls, like the Durga, need to inform them about the system of patriarchy and need to teach her to be smart and not just "good". 

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2. Who Am I? - The Hunt for the Lost Durga

The organisation MISSING was founded by Leena Kejriwal and started as a public art project after years of working with NGOs such as Apne Aap, Hamari Muskan and New Light. As an artist, Kejriwal fought against human trafficking by creating installations in galleries that brought up the realities of sex trafficking. She felt that the world needed a new approach to tackling human trafficking and introduced MISSING as a four-part Art As Activism movement, the first of which was the MISSING Stencil Campaign. The Hunt for the Lost Durga is the first of a series of mural walks that MISSING is undertaking in its plan to engage the public with the issue of child trafficking. The murals were completed with the support of Shalimar Paints under their Colours for Change initiative. This mural walk is accompanied by an interactive Facebook messenger experience - the viewer can type 'Missing Mural Walk' into the search bar of the Facebook Messenger App then press 'Get Started' to be guided through the mural walk. The virtual guide asks the viewer which mural they can see and provides information about the mural and child trafficking, always ending with the question 'why wait for a girl to get trafficked to save her?' The virtual guide is still available and you can use it anywhere in the world. This piece is the second in the mural walk and is titled 'Who Am I?'. The virtual guide asks the viewer how many people they see and discusses the different appearance of the fifth person on the far left. This faded figure is the Durga and she is playing the role that people around her expect her to play. However by taking on everyone else's colours, she is losing her own identity and fading into the background. 

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18+: Ending Child Marriages

This mural was created as part of Plan International's campaign '18+: Ending Child Marriage in Southern Africa' to raise awareness of the negative aspects of child and forced marriages. A ‘Pinkification’ campaign occurred in Maputo, Maxixe and Inhambane whereby pink billboards, buses and murals appeared throughout the cities. Children were invited to take part in the mural and paint the message 'I want to decide my own future; say no to child marriage'.With this campaign, Plan International aimed to empower girls and challenge gender norms and practices that drive child/forced marriage. The project included workshops with communities to promote education and training sessions for government representatives, schools, etc. on sexual and reproductive health rights. Plan International, which works to protect the rights of children, launched this campaign to fight for girls’ rights and gender equality. It is a youth-led, global movement that supports girls to take the lead and influence decisions that matter to them. The charity works on forced and child marriage throughout the world.