#MeToo Movement, Paris, France

It all began with me asking a residence mate (Amelie) to photograph for a project that I was doing for my pop art class. She was part of the feminist association in Dauphine (Les Mutin.e.s). She instead proposed that I photograph her and her association for a march that they were taking part. I read in the news about the march that was going to be happening but had no idea of the scale and magnitude of the march. It was a rainy and windy Saturday, march begin from Saint Lazare metro stop. There were people just coming out from different alleys eventually accumulating to the Palais Garnier. Then it hit me about the actual scale of the event. It was filled with people of all ages, there were children, babies, men, women, senior citizens. It was filled with humans fighting for solidarity for the 130 women that were killed this year by a current or former partner. There were 100000 people marching demanding the government to take strong action against domestic violence. It was kind of ironic in the fact that France has some of the most progressive reputation and pushes for women's rights around the world however, it has some of the highest rates of domestic violence in Europe. i walked the entire march accumulating to Republique, in a space of 5 hours, I took close to 3000 photos. I was visually overloaded and emotionally overwhelmed. Apart from photographing, i was consistently thinking - what has the world has become, how can men treat women so harshly, after all a man is birthed by a women. It simply didn't make sense to me. I have heard and read so many stories where women don't even bother going to the police as they won't be heard, understood and even be bothered about. Really goes to show the state of the society now. President Macron called it 'France's shame' but will there be a way to eradicate this shame and violence and atrocities - Not only in France but all over the world. I'm just someone who makes photographs and documents human events and photographs things that impacts me, and I see the world through my photographs and i find meaning through them. That day, i saw and felt the anger, sadness and the myriad of emotions not only through the photographs but by just being there. It was powerful. My aim is not to gather a like or a share or anything. I want you to look at the images, do they speak to you? If they do, just remember every individual has the power to make the most minor of changes or acts to make the world a better place and in this case for women. They are just asking for their fundamental rights, its the least we can do.