In Jordan, though there are more women than men in university, women’s representation in the work force is one of the lowest in the world. This gap stretches into roles for women in leadership and government, however, locally, women are experiencing social and family pressures to conform, and many are victims of gender-based violence.

aptART partnered with USAID Takamol- Gender Program, to develop eight murals throughout Jordan to increase social dialogue on gender through street art. The project OPEN SPACE is funded by IREX and USAID and is a street art initiative that aims to inspire men and women as equal contributors to a healthy society, economy, and political system… to create an open space for community dialogue and together push boundaries on gender. Check out the other seven murals as they happen here.

As part of Open Space, street artist Ruben Sanchez joined forces with young men and women from Rusaifa, Jordan, to discuss gender boundaries in their society and how to push towards equality.

Collaboratively they came up with ideas to Push Boundaries on gender issues and transformed their ideas into art, and with the help of Ruben designed a mural to stand pride of place on a large public wall in Rusaifa… so large the finished mural is a constant reminder for the locals not to forget the importance of gender equality.

GraffitiStreet

How did you hear about the open space project in Jordan?

Ruben Sanchez

I collaborated with AptArt two years ago for a similar project in North Jordan, working with refugee kids in conflictive areas and refugee camps right on the border with Syria. We painted a lot of walls with the kids, spreading different messages about tolerance, hygiene, respect, coexistence, etc.
The experience was so good that we had to repeat. AptArt recently invited me again to visit Jordan and paint this huge facade, the idea was to paint something with local youngsters to raise awareness of gender issues, which is sadly very common in Jordan and all over the Arab countries.

GraffitiStreet

Why was this project a particular interest to you?

Ruben Sanchez

Any project with AptArt is different to any other wall commission: the message, area, conditions… We usually work in quite guetto areas, and you feel like you’re educating these little guys in a way while they’re having mad fun. All these things make these projects something special.
Technically speaking, it was very challenging because it’s been my biggest wall so far, we didn’t have much spray paint and the weather conditions were just ridiculous: we started with two days of the worst sand storm followed by terrible floods, so you can imagine!

GraffitiStreet

How did the local community react to you painting there?

Ruben Sanchez

Well, since my style is far from being realistic and sometimes you can’t clearly see what it is exactly, the first impression was always try to decipher what on earth I was painting! Once we progressed with the artwork and you could see a human form, many people (mostly men) asked if it was a man or a woman. When we explained it was a woman, and the meaning of what she was doing, men got a little confused, like… are they really painting a maaassive woman fighting for her rights?!  The students who helped us, boys and girls, were really excited about the meaning, the whole concept, and being part of it. Either with their written messages within the artwork or helping us by filling in the colours, etc.
As I said it’s very sad, but truth is that women in Arab countries are treated almost like second class citizens, where they hide, cover their faces and bodies, and live mostly locked in their homes. There are a lot of exceptions, there are a lot of women playing important roles in different Arab countries, and some cities are more open-minded than others. But I would say, from my opinion, that women are a long way off to be treated, and have the same rights, as men.

GraffitiStreet

Did you travel to Jordan knowing what you would paint or was it a collaboration of ideas with the local community?

Ruben Sanchez

It was a team work with AptArt team and the local community. Once we got the concept of ‘Pushing boundaries’ I just worked on an artwork that would represent that.

GraffitiStreet

Explain the thoughts behind the mural please.

Ruben Sanchez

Having what I just said in mind, the artwork shows a woman oppressed by the walls of her house, pushing hard on the walls with her hands, representing the concept of the wall ‘push boundaries’ which you can apply to the different difficulties women here have day by day.
There are different decorative elements, like pottery or fruit which I use a lot in my work, and in this case it helped me to show that she’s at home. A dove on her head shows that this transition doesn’t need to be violent at all.

GraffitiStreet

What words were written by the locals on your mural?

Ruben Sanchez

I don’t remember exactly what everyone wrote but it was about coexistence. I remember the major of the City took part and wrote ‘Why not?’

GraffitiStreet

What were your expectations of the project?

Ruben Sanchez

With AptArt everything is unexpected, which makes it super fun at the same time. This doesn’t mean they are disorganised!

GraffitiStreet

How big was the wall and was it difficult to paint?

Ruben Sanchez

It is almost 30m high if I remember well, and it was difficult on the first few days because of the sand storm and floods. Sam and Leah from AptArt helped a lot as well as the locals.

GraffitiStreet

What was the highlight of your time there?

Ruben Sanchez

The whole experience was great, the weather conditions I guess was something unexpected. When we finished the wall, I loved discovering some very special secret spots in Amman.

GraffitiStreet

What impact has your mural had on the local community?

Ruben Sanchez

I don’t know how this wall affect the people in their day by day, I mean, at the end of the day it’s just a wall, it’s not gonna change anything significantly, but I will be happy if it makes people think. I want people to discover what it means and rethink about it. It is so big and colourful that you can’t avoid it, so I hope it makes the local community think about it and the guys who got involved, proud of being part of it.

GraffitiStreet

Have you witnessed positive interactions between the local men and women and is there a lot of support within the community to encourage such dialogue?

Ruben Sanchez

There is still a lot of work to do. The young generations seem more open to a dialogue and changing things. We had a lot of positive feedback and very interesting interactions. But it’s about education too, it’s about what you see at home or what you learn at school. You see a lot of kids chilling in the street everyday or having rubbish jobs, they don’t go to school. I think this is the generation that the country needs to work on more, if they inherit the same values of inequality we won’t move on.

Another great project by aptART and a great mural left by Ruben to encourage the community to think about the inequalities of men and women. We leave the interview with a time-lapse of Ruben Sanchez’s wall by Documentary Filmmaker  Nina Constable . Check it out…

All images and video courtesy of aptART

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