As part of a campaign called "Just Because I am a Woman", portraits of the women, retouched to include cuts and bruises, have been put on display in the streets of Milan.
The images also feature US lawmaker Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Indian opposition leader Sonia Gandhi and Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi.
Under their bruised faces is the 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.”
“Just because I am a Woman”https://t.co/aeRYhdcINF
Yahoo Actualités (@YahooActuFR) January 15, 2020
The posters say violence against women is a “global problem that affects everyone regardless of race, class or religion”.
Pop artist and activist AleXsandro Palombo, who created the portraits, says he wants to see a "real response from institutions” on the problem of violence against women.
Palombo has run similar campaigns in the past featuring battered celebrities.
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