Iryna Leushyna’s words quoted at Echoing the Voices of Women action in Malmö
At the beginning of March, the Malmö Art Museum commemorated imprisoned female journalists from Belarus as part of the Echoing the Voices of Women action. With the support of the Belarusian Association of Journalists, Malmö PEN told the story of nine media women who are currently imprisoned and also read quotes from the final statement in court of Iryna Leushyna, editor-in-chief of the BelaPAN agency.
Several organizations, including PEN Malmö, Feminists for Jina, and ABF, held an event in support of imprisoned women called Echoing the Voices of Women.
Visitors were invited to write texts on the museum windows that echoed the sentiments of women political prisoners around the world. The organizers selected thirty passages, including some from Belarus. One of the passages was from the poetess Yulia Tsimafeyeva.
“The other texts from Belarus were anonymous due to the risks for some authors in their homeland,” empathized Margareta Flygt, representative of PEN Malmö.
At the art concert held in the museum, Margareta Flygt read an excerpt from the final statement of Iryna Leushyna, editor-in-chief of the BelaPAN agency. Freelance journalist Åsa Ohlsson, who has worked hard to strengthen links between Belarusian and Swedish reporters, spoke about female journalists behind bars in Belarus.
Margareta Flygt mentioned to BAJ that similar actions have been taken before, particularly in relation to the Iranian protesters in 2022.
“The reaction was positive, with people showing interest and being moved by what they saw and heard. Many individuals have limited knowledge about Belarus, and it is easy to forget about the Belarusian tragedy amidst new global disasters. This event served as a good reminder of the country”.
BAJ calls on journalists around the world to support the solidarity action! You can print portraits of imprisoned Belarusian media workers, take pictures with them in outstanding places in your city (outside Belarus) and post them on social media using the hashtags. Don’t forget to send them to intercomm@baj.media.
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