WALLS OF MALE WEAKNESS

WA L L - The meaning ofthese wo Urdu words is: MAI E Sd ) Male weakness. Transforming hand-painted wall messages promising illicit cures for "male weakness" into condemnations of violence against women. Pre-existing wall message: "For the cure of male weakness.” THE BACKGROUND Masculinity in Pakistan is treasured to a point where thousands of walls around the country have hand-painted ads pushing unproven remedies to cure what is locally feared as "male weakness.” But that same masculinity is also often perceived through a lens of dominance and control over women. This toxic idea inevitably leads to increased violence against them. THE IDEA UN Women saw an opportunity to intervene from within the culture itself. On the same walls, in the same language, and most importantly, with the same craftsmen, we transformed the painted message into a condemnation of violence against women. We kept the original phrase of "male weakness’ the way it was, only to cover the rest of the wall painting with a new message. THE EXECUTION By bringing back the same artisans who craft these messages, every wall was hand-painted using authentic Urdu Nastaliq brushwork, flowing letterforms, and organic imperfections to transform the message from: “Cure male weakness.” to “Hitting a woman is male weakness.” By keeping the original words intact and repainting around them, the added line created immediate discomfort. What once sold dominance now condemned abuse, reframing violence not as power, but as the true symptom of weakness. A simple intervention on streets seen by thousands of men every day across the country, challenging them to rethink their notions of masculinity.