KARACHI:
Lensational is a global community enterprise, aspiring to empower women in developing countries -all by equipping them with cameras and photography training. In September 2013, at the age of 20 Bonnie Chiu, co-founder and director of Lensational, travelled to Pakistan to conduct photography workshops. The London based entrepreneur, who is the brains behind the enterprise spoke to The Express Tribune about Lensational.
“When I was In Istanbul two years ago, a girl came up to me and asked if she could take a look at my camera. She’d never had the chance to use a camera before. The sheer joy on her face as she learned how to use one inspired me to use photography as an agent of social change. Photography is a universal language that transcends boundaries and connects cultures.”
Lensational, which is a combination of “lens” and “sensational”, materialised on International Women’s Day in 2013, when the association received their first seed grant.
“Photography is a powerful channel of expression and education. It brings far-away stories closer to us and challenges our misconceptions. In the developing world, however, photography is not accessible to the majority of the population. And the rampant stereotype of ‘Third World women’ as oppressed is something we want to break as well,” explained Chiu.
Given the new impetus gathered around the global solidarity movement following Malala Yousafzai winning the Nobel Peace Prize, Lensational’s management believes that this is the right moment to launch an ambitious project in Pakistan — granting women permanent access to digital cameras. And a little more. Chiu is quick to add, “Photography is a gateway to alleviating women’s economic dependence as the freelance nature of photography allows them to work, while attending to other responsibilities.”
School girls from Leadership College Multan receive disposable cameras as awards for their academic excellence.
Lensational provides women with a platform to express themselves regardless of their educational background because taking a picture only requires you to be able to click the camera. “Photography gives voices to women who are traditionally silenced, who are denied chance to express emotions. We have seen that women feel less fearful and inhibited to start a conversation using the creative and powerful impact of photographs. Women’s emotions and thoughts can be easily expressed through a press of shutter, regardless the restriction of illiteracy,” exclaimed the entrepreneur.
“The intended audience of the photographs ranges from their fellow programme participants to their family members and even to a global audience. Over a period of time, this can result in a change of perception of both the women and audience of the photographs” said Chiu. She hopes that the photographs taken by women will allow us to re-imagine the possibilities for gender roles, and to challenge the cliché of the victimised image of ‘Third World women.’
The entrepreneur believes that the social message she is trying to convey will benefit the international community as a whole, “Women can be part of global dialogues on international development. We hope that the pictures can add a new dimension in development, whereby outcomes are not only measured by subsistence needs but more intangible ones as well, including ability to express oneself and to own memories in physical form,” said Chiu. She went on to add that the goal of Lensational is to pull the Global North and Global South closer by understanding each other’s realities through a camera lens.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 23rd, 2014.
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