"Women Hold Up Half the Sky"

In a country where machismo and violence against women are unfortunately very much a part of daily life, (Nearly 45 % of Guatemalan women have suffered some instance of violence in their lifetime.) the indigenous women carry themselves with such dignity and strength as reflected in the grace and balance in which they walk with items on their heads on the cobblestone streets of Antigua (and throughout Guatemala). I am so inspired by these women and I love to capture their show of power and resilience in my photography where the ancient Chinese proverb ​“Women hold up half the sky”​ is a theme/thread woven throughout my Guatemalan street photography. This poetic metaphor doesn’t describe women sitting under the shade tree while men hold up the entire sky. It doesn’t suggest women are competing with men to hold up the sky. And it doesn’t suggest there are simply more men to hold up the sky. What it evokes instead is an image of women fully bringing their unique gifts to the society they live in, bringing their distinctive ways of holding up the sky...in equal parts to men. These women have been inspiring me for over 20 years since I first traveled to Guatemala in 1997 to work on a Mayan women’s cooperative and backpack by myself throughout the country as well as through my ethical business Coleccion Luna that I founded in 1997 focused on their ancient textile tradition. “We all move forward when. we recognize how resilient. and striking the women. around us are.” ​ Rupi Kaur