04/06/2012 the daily beast
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http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/06/04/panmela-castro-saving-lives-through-graffiti.htmlTRANSCRIPT
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Aaron Kisner / Courtesy of Vital Voices
AlyseNe lson
WO MEN IN TH E WO RLD 06 .04.1 2
Panmela Castro: Saving LivesThrough GraffitiIn the new book 'Vital Voices' by Alyse Nelson, graffiti ar tist PanmelaCastro and 31 other women describe how they change the world.
Panmela Castro was a 25-year-old graffiti artist in Brazil—using the streets of
Rio de Janeiro as her canvas—when she realized she could turn her artwork
into a radical public forum for change.
Artist Panmela Castro beside one of her murals in Brazil. ( Aaron Kisner / Courtesy ofVital Voices)
The year was 2006, and the country had just passed a landmark law. The
Maria da Penha law, named for a woman who was left paralyzed by domestic
violence, recognized the physical abuse of women as a violation of human rights.
It was the first law against domestic violence in Brazil—a country where such
T H E D AI LY B E AST PO LI T I C S E N T E R TAI N ME N T WO R LD N E WS U .S. N E WS
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abuse was so deeply ingrained, many people simply accepted it. It had taken
nearly three decades of advocacy before Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da
Silva had passed the law.
Yet as we’ve seen throughout the world, a law’s passage is no guarantee that it
will be implemented. In Brazil, many women didn't even know the new
legislation existed.
That's where Panmela came in. She realized she could use her graffiti to help
spread the word, and so she took to the streets of Rio's hillside favelas,
partnering with human-rights organizations to turn underground public art into
messages condemning domestic violence. Panmela wanted women who suffered
abuse to know that they have rights, that there are legal protections.
As a discipline, graffiti is fiercely competitive, territorial, and dominated by
men. But Panmela’s talent quickly won respect.
Newsweek & The Dai ly Beast's Ab igai l Pesta i nter views Alyse Nelson o f Vi tal Vo ices.
I was introduced to Panmela through Jimmie Briggs, the founder of Man Up,
which uses sports and the hip-hop culture to engage young men in combating
violence against women in their communities. When I traveled to Rio to see
Panmela's work firsthand, I could see that she is at the same time unassuming
and intensely passionate and focused.
“I just knew I could use my art as a way to communicate what I strongly
believed: violence is never justified, never right,” Panmela said. “I thought I
could help others see that they have the power to change their situation.’’
Her bright, vibrant murals are impossible to ignore. They show strong women
breaking free from oppression, as she wants women to feel empowered to
break their silence. She explained, "The pictures say, ‘My life isn’t just on a
wall. Learn to respect me, hear my voice. I’m not afraid to speak.'"
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Panmela isproof that nomatter howyoung you
are, you havethe power tomake change.
Castro with one of her vibrant works of art. (Courtesy of Vital Voices)
Panmela is proof that no matter how young you are, you have the power to
make change. She founded an organization called Artefeito to transform culture
through art and social projects; through the organization, Panmela is carrying
her message beyond Brazil to women across the world.
She works in collaboration with other artists, and holds workshops for girls to
give them the opportunity to express themselves. Artefeito has developed a
following and has become a platform to empower girls to speak out against
injustices and understand their power.
"We discuss the law, talk about equality, and about their rights," Panmela said
of the workshops she holds. "We talk about what the murals represent. Always,
I tell them that they do not have to be oppressed. The art says what I believe.
A woman can be and do what she wants. I represent that idea, and I think that
the walls have had an impact—even saved lives."
In these last few years, we’ve seen old
orders upended all over the world. Calls
for accountability, fairness, and
openness have set off phenomenal,
irreversible shifts in politics, economics,
and culture. I think one of the root
causes of this mass unrest is a sense of
disempowerment. We’re living in an
ever-more connected world, but people
feel removed from the decisions and
systems that shape their reality.
There’s a tension between the instant
connection and democratized agency
that technology makes possible for all
people, and the reality of economic and
social inequities that continue to
alienate and disadvantage most people.
Therefore, we need to reconsider our
assumptions about power and shift the
way we relate to our leaders. If we want to successfully navigate this new
world, we need new thinking, new partners. We need leaders who leverage
power to inspire collective empowerment. We need leaders who understand
that we are interconnected, interdependent—leaders like Panmela Castro.
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Castro at work in the studio. (Joshua Cogan / Courtesy of Vital Voices)
At the Vital Voices Global Partnership, a group that works to train women
leaders worldwide, we work with more than 12,000 women like Panmela in 144
countries. We have learned that women are adept at socializing a distinct model
of leadership—one that we believe can be uniquely effective in tackling many of
humanity’s most pressing challenges.
Women lead differently. The strengths they possess, the behaviors that set
them apart, are the ones that will lead us forward in the coming years:
inclusiveness, conviction, creativity, mentorship, collaboration. For 15 years, we
have invested in women’s leadership because we believe that their leadership is
a force that can be harnessed for the global good.
Through the stories of the 32 remarkable women in my new book Vital Voices:
The Power of Women Leading Change Around the World, you will see that
leadership is a relationship, and part of being an effective leader means
connecting and collaborating with and including others. The women that Vital
Voices supports pursue leadership not to amplify their own power, influence or
wealth, but rather as a means to promote positive change.
Women have been emboldened by their recent leadership of the events
and institutions that will reshape the 21st century—from Tahrir Square to the
IMF, a tipping point has been reached in women’s continued, systematic, and
sustained participation in public life.
Leadership—global women’s leadership—is a force that accelerates
development and promotes the common good. This paradigm of leadership we
are putting forward is exemplified by women but not exclusive to women.
In a complex, interlinked world of economic inequality, women’s global
leadership, with its unusual combination of collaboration, transparency, and
boldness, is one of the most powerful and transformative movements that can
help accelerate sound economic development, promote political stability, and
transform communities.
We may never be presented with the perfect formula or situation to lead
change; we must be pragmatic and seize opportunities as they arise. My
conversations with international leaders have reinforced that conviction. They
have made me realize that these lessons and this leadership model needed to be
shared more broadly, because it is a model anyone can follow—and one our
world desperately needs right now.
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Panmela Castro is one woman who represents an emerging shift in leadership.
Her message and her medium ask us to re-imagine our conception of power.
Reprinted with permission from the publisher, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., from
Vital Voices: The Power of Women Leading Change Around the World by
Alyse Nelson. Copyright (c) 2012 by Vital Voices.
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