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.
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.
This mural was completed as part of the Shoreditch Art Wall and supported the launch of the UK branch of the organisation Child Labour Free. It was revealed on the World Day Against Child Labour on 12th June 2016 alongside the sale of limited edition t-shirts with the designs of the mural. The proceeds of this went to the development of the Child Labour Free child care centre, which helps children in red light districts in Kolkata, India. Child Free Labour selected Victoria Villasana and Zabou to complete the mural. Zabou created the portraits of the two children, one of which can be seen above, and Victoria added the threads to the piece. For more images of the mural, please click here.Victoria is from Mexico and she was chosen because child labour is a strong issue in her country. She stated that 'What I like about Child Labor Free is that they work closely with the families to help them get out of poverty, rather than just stopping retailers from buying from these suppliers. This will help children enjoy better lives that are full of play, rather than just work.'