Cartoons depicting Asian women display here

Cartoons depicting Asian women display here

JAKARTA (JP): The Japan Foundation Forum of Tokyo is
organizing an exhibition of social and political cartoons around
a theme of "Women of My Country" between July 10 and Aug. 10 that
will travel to Japan's big cities.

The exhibition features 110 cartoons by 11 artists from the
ASEAN countries of Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, the
Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, as well as India, China,
Korea, Vietnam and Japan.

The ongoing exhibition depicts Asian women's lives, including
their education, social and family life, favorite work and
recreation.

Indonesia is represented by Mochamad Fauzie (Uzie) from
Jakarta Jakarta magazine. One of his works being displayed is a
cartoon on sexual harassment that portrays a woman frowning upon
finding a condom on her seat while her male colleagues are in
fits of laughter in the hall. "Working women frequently accept
sexual harassment from colleagues. From dirty jokes to a condom
on their seat are some of the tricks," Uzie says.

In his other cartoon commentaries, Uzie addresses the issue of
a woman's virginity. "Virginity is still sacred in a holly
matrimony. Some men have accepted the 'not-virgin brides', but
some others do not. Those who find that their brides are not
virgins might divorce the women soon after the marriage. There
are also others who take advantage of the situation by practicing
polygamy. Yes, this is really unfair," he writes.

The Japan Foundation Forum has organized the exhibition every
year since 1990.

The organizing committee has invited the cartoonists to Japan
to participate in discussions about cartoons and tour the Osamu
Tezuka cartoon museum in Takarazuka and the Cartoon Art Museum in
Omiya.

Omiya, which is known as "the city of Japanese cartoonists,"
is the hometown of the pioneer of modern Japanese cartoons,
Kitazawa Rakuten. Omiya has hosted an annual international
cartoon festival since 1991. (sim)