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Artistic rendering memorializes stoning victims

Thursday, 07. 9. 2009 – by Janice

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Little Red by Marcia Annenberg

Little Red by Marcia Annenberg

Little Red was created by Marcia Annenberg as a memorial for Aisha Ibrahim Duhulow, a 13-year-old girl stoned to death in Somalia last year. As the mother of a 15-year-old girl, Marcia was horrified when she heard about the injustice that Aisha had faced in her last moments. After seeing Aisha’s parents on television talking about the stoning, the situation became too real for Marcia and the piece was born.

The piece is striking in its profoundness and symbolism. The figure is draped in red, related to the western myth about Little Red Riding Hood. Like Little Red Riding Hood, Aisha was on her way to visit her grandmother when she was taken and raped by three men. When her parents demanded justice, Aisha was taken into custody. The basket is white, symbolizing innocence and is filled with Arabic alphabet blocks, symbolizing the loss of Aisha’s childhood. The cloak is handmade to represent the type of clothing worn by Muslim women in this part of Africa.

Please share this beautiful memorial with those interested in human dignity.

Marcia Annenberg is an artist of political subjects. You can learn more about her and her important work at www.mannenberg.com

Related Posts:

No matter what my friend tells me, sharia law is no excuse (100%)
A closer look at The Stoning of Soraya M. (82.2%)
Those seeking torture porn will be very disappointed. (82.2%)
Michael Jackson or democracy: what matters to Americans more? (RANDOM - 33.3%)

7 responses to “Artistic rendering memorializes stoning victims”

Irshad Manji says:
July 9th, 2009 at 3:23 pm
Glad to see the anti-stoning campaign move beyond Iran to include other countries where this atrocity is still taking place. Yet another piece of evidence that The Stoning of Soraya M is about human dignity, not Iran-bashing. Marcia Annenberg, thank you.
Marcia Annenberg says:
July 10th, 2009 at 1:22 pm
Dear Irshad,

Your Morale Courage project has been a great inspiration to me.

Thank you.
Irshad Manji says:
July 11th, 2009 at 4:22 pm
Marcia: Great to know that the Moral Courage Project has been an inspiration. I'm always curious to discover what about it inspires you — as an artist, activist, global citizen and/or human being? Could you be specific about what you find valuable about the MCP? That kind of information helps me and moral courage team create more opportunities that resonate with people… Thanks again!

Marcia Annenberg Reply:
July 12th, 2009 at 10:09 pm
@Irshad Manji,

I am in awe of your courage. I heard you speak with Cristiane Amanpour in New York.

How do you find the strength to stand up to fundamentalism? You inspire by example.

If one person can take a stand against injustice and cruelty…others can realize the power

of one individual to affect change.

Janice Reply:
July 13th, 2009 at 4:14 pm
@Marcia Annenberg, by creating such pieces as "Little Red" and the other political protest pieces that I saw on your website, you are exhibiting tremendous courage. Like Irshad you have taken a stand against injustice and cruelty and as an artist you are sharing your stand with the world. Don't sell yourself short! You are an inspiration in your own right.
Irshad Manji says:
July 13th, 2009 at 7:20 pm
Marcia, I vote for Janice's take on this! I hope I'm not telling tales out of school, but Janice once wrote an entry for her own blog in which she basically told people to stop asking, "What can I do?" as a replacement for actually doing something — anything. It would have been so easy for you to fall into the "tell me what I can do" whine. You just used your artistic instinct/impulse/imperative to create an image that has gotten this discussion going. Already, that puts you in the top percentile of citizens.

Is it enough? Of course not. Nothing I do is enough either. But I also recall several progressive Jewish friends reminding me that according to a lovely rabbinical teaching, it's not our obligation to finish the job; only to advance it.

You're doing your part. I look forward to seeing more of your contributions — in text, image, or both — on this site!

Marcia Annenberg Reply:
July 14th, 2009 at 8:13 am
@Irshad Manji,

The teaching you referred to is called," Tikkun Olam", which means to repair the world -

that we are called to repair a broken world. And thanks to you both for your vote of confidence!