“I use my art to raise awareness.”
Every time you start a new activity in the community, especially when you are practicing some skills that are not common for girls, you will face a lot of pressure from different sections of the society, particularly in a country where girls are traditionally not allowed to do some of the things men do. It is quite common for our people to try to discourage you from gaining certain knowledge if you are a girl. Fatima Aweis Osman, a young girl born in Saudi Arabia in Jeddah, is an artist who first returned to Mogadishu in 2015. She started her education journey in Saudi Arabia but finished high school in Mogadishu. Fatima's family did not have any art background and it was not something she went to school to learn. “My family did not have an art background, and I did not have a place to study. It would have been nice if I had that opportunity but there was no art center, it was only something I loved”. She noted. “One day, our teacher brought us an art painting for the first...