PLANNING:
Even
a year after the launching of the CMZ-BWC in March 2012, a low level of Breast
Cancer awareness continued to prevail in Zamboanga City. The basic Breast Self
Examination (BSE) was not a common knowledge and practice, surprisingly, even
among women professionals.
In
spite of breast awareness lectures conducted in 2012 and 2013, CMZ-BWC gathered
in pre-lecture surveys, that most women still have not heard about Breast
Screening (more than 90%) or for those who have heard of it, they do not
practice this (98%). Women are timid in talking about breast health possibly
due to religious and cultural reasons given the predominance of conservative
Catholics and Muslims.
During an in-house Art competition held at CMZ,
discussion with Zamboanga City Muslim artist, Rameer Tawasil brought about the
idea of using brassieres for a giant installation art to be displayed as an
outdoor media in a public area in Zamboanga City. According to the artist,
media exposure about the temporary installation art is the important aspect of
the advocacy. Also part of the discussion were Zamboanga City media
personality, Dante Corteza and City Councilor, Hon. Myra Paz Abubakar who
emphasized the need for the proper use of the brassiere medium to conform to
the sensitivities of the conservative sector.
This posed a great challenge for Ciudad Medical
Zamboanga to proceed with a very unusual yet unique and acceptable way to deal
with the advocacy, but stimulating enough to promote the cause to the Zamboanga
City community.
Challenges and
solutions during planning.
There were
apprehensions related to the use of brassieres in the advocacy. One
apprehension was that women consider bras as very personal and will not donate their
tattered bras, even for a cause.
At the initial discussion about the B.R.A. Campaign Project, one
of the apprehensions of the councilor (Gender and Development advocate) and of
some council officials was its acceptability to Catholic and Muslim religious
groups and conservative women’s groups, and may have to be subjected to consultative
meetings prior to the start of the project.
The main challenge considered was that display of
bras would trigger “outrage” and may be unacceptable to our community. The acceptance of the
brassiere as medium for art was questioned. For the conservative, the use of
brassieres may be thought provoking, but it can also be shocking to the
conscience and may cause minds to wander, thus, distracting the public from its
lofty purpose.
One comment was that the law-enforcers might detain the CMZ-BWC
group for causing public disturbance for hanging bras in public places, to
which the artist answered that is the law enforcers must also share in the
advocacy and it is the artist role to make the bra medium acceptable.
The solution considered was to give attention also to the
decoration of the bras so they do not appear as underwear materials.
Having considered all these concerns, the core group from the CMZ
Executive Committee in consultation with the artist brainstormed on the project,
which came to be known as the CMZ
B.R.A. (Bra to Raise Awareness) Campaign Project.
The
Ciudad Medical Zamboanga B.R.A. Campaign
Project proposed a novel awareness strategy to the larger problem of Breast
Cancer in Zamboanga City using a two-pronged approach: 1) Brassieres as Art medium to create a strong visual impact
for Breast Cancer Awareness within Zamboanga City to complement and inspire the
education efforts and 2) Breast Education with Screening to
reach out to the barangay levels through its offshoot, the CMZ BRAngay Project. (BReast Awareness to neighborhoods, groups,
associations and the youth).
Community
partnership and media are seen as important factors for promotion, extension of
reach and most importantly, sustainability of efforts.
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