Project description: As part of the project Interpretation of Otherness – Hijab as a Cultural Signifier, the Academic Initiative “Forum 10” from Novi Pazar organised a photography exhibition titled Hijab as a Phenomenon of Constructing and Challenging Identity. The project was initiated by the unequal presence and stereotypical representation of women across different media formats. Women wearing hijab are often represented in the media in ways that reinforce and maintain stereotypes of a dangerous identity and otherness, while the hijab is frequently framed within discourses of fear, threat, and danger associated with the “other”.
Photographs of women from Novi Pazar, representing different social, educational, economic, and age groups, who wear hijab, were created by photographers Srđan Veljović and Irfan Ličina. The exhibition was presented at the “Ras” Museum.
A multimedia installation titled Interpretation of Otherness was also created. It included archival footage of Novi Pazar from the period between 1970 and 1995, as well as archival footage from 1995 to 2022. The installation focused on public space and citizens present within it, alongside testimonies from women who participated in the organised implementation of the 1951 Law on the Prohibition of Wearing the Zar and Ferace.
As part of the exhibition programme, a discussion titled Interpretations of Otherness – Hijab as a Phenomenon of Constructing and Challenging Identity was organised, supporting the existing discussion practices developed by Forum 10 within the local community. The debate was also held at the “Ras” Museum and included Nermin Vučelj (University of Niš), Senada Leković (member of the local parliament), Muamera Mulić (cultural worker), Hasna Zuljkić (journalist), Amela Bajrović (journalist), and Sajma Redžepefendić (activist).
The project successfully created a space for reflection on the processes of constructing and challenging women’s ethnic and religious identities within the Muslim community, with the aim of challenging stereotypes about Muslim women from this region and contributing to changes in existing social perceptions in the public sphere.
Grant amount: 1,000,000.00 RSD
