Photo artists from across Asia shed light on women's plight

Hongkongers can catch a rare glimpse into the world of suppressed women across Asia in a photography exhibition that opens in Wan Chai today.

Thirteen photographic artists from 11 Asian countries have captured unique moments in places where extreme gender inequality exists, including Afghanistan, India, Cambodia, Pakistan, Myanmar and Iran.

For Iranian artist Gohar Dashti, 34, it was her first visit to Hong Kong. She took time off from the exhibition to visit the Occupy Central protest site in Admiralty and found it was in stark contrast to her memories of growing up during the 1980s in a war-torn Iran. "It's very peaceful in Hong Kong compared with demonstrations in my country."

Dashti's portrait series "Slow Decay" shows Iranian men, women and children in stark, often surreal, environments where the presence of blood symbolises pain.

The theme draws from the history of Iran, she said, but is not a direct commentary on conflict or gender inequality, as people can draw on their own experiences when seeing the pictures.

Historically and culturally, Iran has "had a lot of pain", she said. "In my works, you can see I am a female artist, you can see I grew up in a country with a complex history and you cannot separate the war in Iran and me, as an artist."