click image to view detail Windows (detail) 1998/1999 mixed media, walk-in-installation, dimensions variable Gerda Meyer Bernstein

Windows Windows seeks to help break the silence about the widespread practice of female genital mutilation (FGM). I was motivated to construct this piece by anger and outrage about the violence that has been committed against more than 149 million girls and women, 2 million each year, in at least 29 countries. As a woman and a feminist, I feel an obligation to fight for the rights of other women and to work to abolish FGM. Young men refuse to marry girls who have not been ritually cut, and therefore, mothers force their daughters to submit to this medically dangerous and extremely painful cutting. FGM is a violent custom that has been passed down from generation to generation, for thousands of years, as part of a male dominated society. Women's bodies become battlegrounds for control. Women have no voice; they are controled by their husbands. Windows is for looking in. Windows breaks the silence. Windows hopes to motivate women worldwide to work to eradicate female genital mutilation. Windows hopes to enable women to gain control over their bodies. Political action must be taken to save lives and promote equality for women. FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION IS A HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATION -Gerda Meyer Bernstein click image to view Tribunal Exhibition