Precious Words

As a maverick, jewellery artist Eina Ahluwalia has always believed in doing things differently. While most jewellery designers have played up just the design element, Ahluwalia has successfully blended art with design. At a time when every other brand and designer has come up with an offer to tap into the commercial potential of Valentine's Day, this conceptual jeweller has come up with a campaign to launch her latest collection. In keeping with the recent protests condemning violence against women, she has put together a video called Man Up which urges men to not just love women but to respect them.

"I believe that one can't love a woman without respecting her. Respect is a starting point and the love follows. So, when I was working on this V-Day collection, it occurred to me that I needed something more than the usual and that's how this video came about," she explains. The one-and-a-half minute video has four men of different age groups relaying the message that it isn't masculine — rather it is weak and cowardly — to control women and commit crimes against them. In order to make her message more prominent, Ahluwalia has designed a range of ornate brooches, neckpieces, earrings and bangles that spell out the words "love", "respect" and "protect".

"Violence against women has been one of the core issues that I have addressed through my work. As I delved deeper into these issues, I realised that one of the biggest missing links is respect — respect as a human being more than even as a woman. If women were treated with a minimum of respect, we would have a much safer world," she asserts. We couldn't agree more.

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