EMPOWERMENT OVER POWER

Lyna Bennani is a 20-year-old Moroccan photographer. Through her art, she shows her vision of strong feminine power.

This series presents a new way in which women are lifting themselves and each other up while expressing their own unique voices. Like no other time, women are now being self-empowered through entrepreneurship.

Each of the young female creatives shot in this series is a strong feminist and an entrepreneur as am I. We are from every part of the globe - Indonesia, Brazil, Romania, and Morocco. We come from emerging countries that wouldn’t have offered us the opportunity to rise up and have a voice in the way that we currently have if we haven’t had directly and proactively creating opportunities for ourselves.

“Women are doing business from a place of collaboration rather than competition, empowerment rather than power over, and generosity rather than hard-selling and urgency. Women have gifts of empathy, intuition, nurturing and generosity that provide invaluable solutions, balance and sustainability to challenges we all face in the marketplace.”… “When women embark upon our entrepreneurial journey in a way that honors our unique women's values, we are more successful.” Sage Lavine, founder, Women Rocking Business.

These works are deliberately curated and not of a photo documentary style to speak to the fact that we now, like no other time, have the opportunity to be active participants in shaping our own paths and telling our own story.

I wanted to use different elements in the images to embody different aspects of this discussion.

Let’s not talk about waves of feminism but of an ocean. We all have the ability to look into this mirror and contribute.

Fire speaks to me of power and warmth. Passing the torch to the next generation is a concept that has often been discussed in feminism.

“I’m often asked if I’ll be passing the torch onto someone else,” Steinem told the audience. “I say no, I won’t be passing it on. I’m using it to light the torches of others. The idea that there’s only one torch is part of the problem.” Feminist leader Gloria Marie Steinem stated in 2014.

The women in these images have come together in Bali, Indonesia, now a hub for those seeking new connections and ways of working together.

These are small excerpts of their stories:

Bella (21) is from Indonesia and was 16 when she began work as a fashion stylist for Jakarta fashion week. She now has businesses based online and in Indonesia. She is also an ambassador to the non-profit ‘Remake Our World’. It is an organization that is aiming to ignite a conscious consumer movement and to turn fashion into a force for good.

She grew up reflecting on the fact that Indonesian women were often scared to say what they thought. Being an entrepreneurial creative has allowed her to develop her voice, to share her vision even if it went against societal norms. She wants to defy expectations of how she should look and act, not just for herself but to be an example to other Indonesian women.

Leticia (23) was born and raised in Brazil. She was forced to become independent at a young age after the loss of both of her parents. At the age of 22, she created her own fashion and accessories label and left her home country to lecture in design at a university in India. Being surrounded and supported by other women in her journey helped her to stay strong and find her sense of self beyond what had happened to her. She loves to mentor other young women. She believes that sharing knowledge is powerful.

Maria (25) is originally from Romania. She started her own business doing clothing alterations at the age of 16. At 19 she started to design her own pieces, for the girl that’s not afraid to stand out, the girl that’s creative. “I am sharing my voice through the pieces I create, the messages are not only relatable to women, but also to men. I’ve had a positive response to the things I’m sharing with people so it gives me more motivation to talk about my ideas and what I believe in.”

Maria and Leticia both reside in Bali, Indonesia, where they hold monthly events that bring female creatives together discuss ideas and empower each other.

Me, Lyna (20), the girl behind the camera. I was born and raised in Morocco by my single mother. I understood how important it is to be an independent woman, especially in a country where women have far less privileges than men. This is why I called myself a feminist at the age of 12. I left Morocco at the age of 17 and started my journey around the world. After observing, reflecting and researching, I found the strength of running my own business at 19 and defining my own message. I use photography as a way to empower other women. I want their fire, their femininity, and their voices to be heard.