India is and has been struggling with a record number of cases of violence against women, and after the brutal gang-rape and murder of a medical student last December; the country has been lead into an outcry for change. Their advertising campaigns have been strong and hard hitting, starting with a campaign to “ring the bell” when abuse is heard and?continuing?into a bold print ad campaign to combat domestic violence.
Taproot India Communication and Save the Children India have come together to create a very powerful and moving statement against domestic violence. Their ads depict beloved Hindu Goddesses in traditional paintings, beaten and bruised due to domestic violence. Taproot’s ads are captioned saying, ?Today, more than 68% of women in India are victims of domestic violence. Tomorrow, it seems like no woman will be spared. Not even the ones we pray to.?
In a country where religion and its Deities? are at the center of their everyday lives, using these goddesses to speak to the masses about domestic abuse is a perfect venue to touch the core of that society’s emotion.
Domestic abuse is a topic too uncomfortable for people, pushed to the back pages of magazines, swept under the rug, and quietly whispered about in the privacy of one’s own home. We often look on in disbelief and outrage at the abuse that happens in other countries, and forget that our own country suffers the same plight.? Maybe it is time for America to follow in these footsteps and make a statement so bold, it cannot be ignored.
Edited and published by CB
