If You Knew Me You Would Care

2013 | Art, Photography & Fashion | Gender Studies

"If You Knew Me You Would Care" represents a journey taken to find women who have survived wars, violence, and poverty in order to collect their stories. The stories go beyond tears and victimhood and reveal joy, love, and forgiveness.
"If You Knew Me You Would Care" is a collaboration between women's rights activist and Women for Women International founder Zainab Salbi and photographer Rennio Maifredi. Together they traveled to Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, and Bosnia and Herzegovina to seek out women who have been subject to the worst trials individuals must ever face, and yet overcame this adversity. Salbi conducted interviews with women about their definitions of war and peace, about their horrific and tragic pasts and their hopes for the future, and Maifredi photographed each of the women interviewed. The interviews and images together create a compelling, global, first-person account of what it means to be a powerful, female, survivor.
"If You Knew Me You Would Care" is a celebration of women's stories and strength worldwide.
"The women in this book are an inspiration to all of us who aspire to triumph over adversity. It is a personal peek at the most initimate stories as told by women who have survived war. It is a tribute to them, to their survival, their achievements, and their dreams. I hope people everywhere will take away the powerful message of survival this book inspires."
--Zainab Salbi

Zainab Salbi (Author)