The US government has denied permission to a group wanting to erect a 48-ft statue of a naked woman at the National Mall in Washington.
The statue is meant to convey a message about women’s safety, according to its sculptor Marco Cochrane. He said the sculpture represents a woman who is absolutely fearless
The National Parks service said it denied permit to the group, Catharsis on the Mall, as the statue would diminish the property’s historic significance and damage the grass.
Bid To Silence Women?
The group said the government is trying to silence women. It wants the statue -- which was to be named R-Evolution -- to face the White House directly for 91 days. The National Parks had initially said yes, but later withdrew permission.
"They don’t want us to take action, they don’t want us to say enough is enough, they don’t want this symbol to remind women to stand up to the injustice this administration has forced upon them,” Natalie White, a Catharsis spokesperson, said in a statement
However, a spokesman for the National Parks Service said the reason they denied the group permission was not political. "The proposed statue introduces a visual element that would diminish the property’s significant historic features by altering the setting and historic character of the National Mall landscape,” he said.
Crowdfunding Campaign
The group had launched a crowdfunding campaign to put up the statue. It had reached 73 per cent of its goal of raising $90,000 before the National Parks Service took away the permit. While many questioned the need to have a statue like this, others were angry that the National Parks service took away the group's permit.
Also Read: Sweden to Organise Crowd-funded Women-only “Statement Festival”
Picture Credit: WTOP
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