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Valay Shende

B..ORDER.
Single Channel Video, 1.5 min., 2004

In B..ORDER. (By..Order) Valay Shende zooms into the male hegemonic system in the subcontinent, where, be it the Hindu Indian Goddess, Sita (a role model for Indian housewives) or be it the Muslim woman in burkha (veil), the role of a woman has been interpreted  as a weaker object, subjected to surveillance, to be projected and controlled. Shende uses an excerpt from the popular TV series on Indian mythology, 'The Ramayana', in which 'the Goddess Sita' is asked by her brother in law to protect herself by not crossing the line he has drawn around her hut. This is a directive that continues to be played out again and again, and perpetuated, not just via local Indian media and soap operas but also through the international (western) media gaze on veiled  women within Islam.

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