I Am: Contemporary African Women Artists: National Museum of African Art - Smithsonian Institution

The Blue Bra Girls takes its name from the 2011 Reuters photograph of a veiled young woman whose blue bra was exposed as she was dragged and beaten during protests in Tahrir Square. The image went viral and quickly became a rallying cry for thousands of Egyptian women. For Ghada Amer, The Blue Bra Girls is a tribute to all the women who have risked standing up for what they believe in. As she has said, “I had an idea for a sculpture in which women would look defiantly at the public. I thought it was important that they should all have their eyes open and be looking at the viewer. I also wanted the women standing, instead of lying down. Then the ‘blue bra girl’ incident took place and so I called the piece after that, as an homage to all those women who stand up for themselves and fight.”

The Blue Bra Girls is a part of the permanent collection of the National Museum of African Art.