The Torch

Issue date: 1/24/08 Section: Features

Media Credit: Photo courtesy of www.womenwholightthedark.com, photo credit Norma Adhiambo : A group of women including Paola Gianturco - author, photographer and advocate of women's rights, experience an upwelling of emotion, as they dig a well in a Kenyan community where young women and girls are frequently responsible for rising early in the morning to gather water for their families, sacrificing time that would otherwise be spent on education.

Throughout the world, women are inspiring courage, providing support and joining together to enact positive change through creative tactics. Images and tales of some of these 'women who light the dark' will be presented by author and photojournalist, Paola Gianturco, Tuesday, Jan. 29, from 7-9 p.m. at Temple Beth Israel, 2550 Portland Street in Eugene.
Gianturco's book, "Women Who Light the Dark," takes the reader on a journey across five continents, depicting how women all over the world are working to emancipate women from inequality, rape, poverty, illiteracy and war.
For the past 12 years, Gianturco has been capturing glimpses into women's lives. "Women Who Light the Dark" is Gianturco's fourth book.
Her photography has been seen in many magazines, including Marie Claire, Spirituality and Health, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Business Week, San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Examiner, Chicago Tribune, Christian Science Monitor and Washington Post.
"I've documented women's lives in 40 countries, and everywhere I have seen local women helping one another tackle the problems that darken their lives," Gianturco said.
In "Women Who Light the Dark," Gianturco captures images of women utilizing the arts to encourage awareness.
In Morocco, Gianturco found a theater group that writes and performs plays to address women's rights in communities where the illiteracy rate is more than 85 percent.
In Zimbabwe, women are using poetry to provide support to young women and increase awareness about child rape.
In many places she found people who were using creative approaches to address the problems facing women.

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