Violence against women: 'Battered faces' poster campaign appears in Milan

AleXsandro Palombo's series of posters can be seen on the streets of Milan

An Italian artist has created a campaign featuring the battered faces of high-profile women to highlight the issue of violence against women.

The posters, which can be seen in Milan, include doctored images of former US First Lady Michelle Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Violence against women does not distinguish between "race, class or religion", the posters say.

Artist AleXsandro Palombo says he wants a "real response from institutions".

Other leading women featured in the series, called Just Because I am a Woman, include US Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, ex-US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi and Sonia Gandhi, the head of India's main opposition party, as well as French first lady Brigitte Macron.

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Under their bruised faces appears the following message: "I am a victim of domestic abuse. I am paid less. I've experienced genital mutilation. I do not have the right to dress as I want. I can't decide who I'm going to marry. I was raped."

In a statement, Palombo says he wants "to illustrate the drama that affects millions of women throughout the world... with the aim of denouncing, raising awareness and obtaining a real response from institutions and politics."

The contemporary artist and activist is the author of similarly shocking campaigns such as Disabled Disney Princesses and The Simpsons Go To Auschwitz.

Another campaign he ran in 2015 featured doctored photographs of US celebrities' battered faces such as actors Kristen Stewart and Angelina Jolie and pop star Madonna.

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