“As a young woman from Kosovo, I was fortunate enough to escape from a destroyed country and go to London to study art. Others weren’t so lucky. I felt it was my time and mission as an artist to honor the thousands of survivors of sexual violence during the war, women and girls who had suffered in silence, their pain buried under shame and stigma,” said Alketa Xhafa-Mripa on Tuesday, during the presentation of “Thinking of You” at the 48th session of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg.
Nearly a decade after the journey began in Prishtina – when “Thinking of You,” featuring the dresses of women who were raped during the war, not only took over the stadium but also the world through images – Strasbourg will be the next host of the installation, which now speaks in a universal language. On Tuesday, the European capital of human rights also learned a little about the global project by artist Alketa Xhafa-Mripa. She presented it during the 48th session of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe as a powerful call for awareness, justice, and solidarity with the victims of sexual violence in armed conflicts. This presentation precedes the official inauguration, which will take place on June 19, on the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict.
“This dress has a story from the spring of 1998! Dardania I, Pejë,” was written on the top of a sky-blue dress, part of the “Thinking of You” installation at the Prishtina Stadium in June 2015.
Since then, the stories of the women survivors of sexual violence in Kosovo have traveled to various European countries. Fragments of the grim mosaic of sexual violence during the last war in Kosovo have been shared. On Tuesday, even the European capital of human rights, Strasbourg, learned about the project. More will be learned in June when the installation takes place there. The artist, who had gathered dresses and other clothes from the survivors – who, according to international organizations, number around 20,000 – has given the project a global character.
At the 48th session of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, Xhafa-Mripa presented the “Thinking of You” project.
The project in Strasbourg was presented as a powerful call for awareness, justice, and solidarity with the victims of sexual violence in armed conflicts. The presentation of the artwork within the Congress precedes the official inauguration, which will be held on June 19, in honor of the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict. The project aims to draw attention to the open wounds of this systemic violence and emphasizes the need for coordinated international action.
“When I first created ‘Thinking of You’ in 2015 in Prishtina, I did so with a deep sense of responsibility,” said the artist Xhafa-Mripa at the beginning, in what is the Palace of Europe. While images of the installation were displayed behind her, Xhafa-Mripa explained that as an artist, she believes in the power of art to tell stories that words alone cannot convey.
Alketa Xhafa-Mripa: “This installation is a declaration of solidarity, a way for us to finally say: We see you. We hear you. You are not forgotten.”
“As a young woman from Kosovo, I was fortunate enough to escape from a destroyed country and go to London to study art. Others weren’t so lucky. I felt it was my time and mission as an artist to honor the thousands of survivors of sexual violence during the war, women and girls who had suffered in silence, their pain buried under shame and stigma,” she said. She explained that the idea was simple but powerful: thousands of dresses, donated by the survivors themselves and people from all walks of life, displayed on laundry lines, a daily household scene transformed into a symbol of survival and resilience.
“This installation is a declaration of solidarity, a way for us to finally say: We see you. We hear you. You are not forgotten,” she said. However, according to her, this message was never just for one conflict, as it is a universal call for justice.
“This is why in 2024, ‘Thinking of You’ was presented in The Hague, the city of international peace and justice. From Kosovo’s clothing to Ukraine, from Bosnia to Rwanda and from Congo to Sudan, and many other countries… the stories of survivors from around the world were given the recognition they deserve,” she said.
She clarified that it was a reminder that sexual violence in conflict is not just a past atrocity but an ongoing crisis. She called for justice not to be delayed.
“Europe was built on the promise: Never again. Never again allowing war crimes to be met with silence, never again turning away from the suffering of those who have endured the unimaginable. If we claim to protect human rights, then we must fulfill those claims, not just with words, but with actions,” she said.
While addressing the audience, she mentioned that she can’t wait to bring “Thinking of You” to Strasbourg, a city that stands as a symbol of human rights and European unity. For her, bringing this piece of work to the heart of Europe is a powerful step toward ensuring that the voices of survivors are heard on an international stage. But, this act goes even further.
“It is a call for action, for policy change, and for recognition. Because true justice is not just about acknowledging the past, it is about shaping a future where no survivor feels invisible. The right to be seen, to be heard, and to seek justice is not an abstract ideal, it is a European value. It is the foundation of our institutions, the reason why Strasbourg exists more as a city,” she said.
She explained that for her, this project is more than just art. She described it as a promise.
“A promise that these women and men will not be erased from history. A promise that we will continue to fight for the truth and justice. A promise that we will stand with the survivors, always and forever,” she said.
Last year, “Thinking of You” garnered attention in the atrium of the central building of The Hague and along the tree-lined path of “Lange Voorhout.” This time, it gathered dresses and skirts from survivors of sexual violence from various parts of the world. As the artist Xhafa-Mripa had said at the time in The Hague, she aimed to draw attention to the reality of sexual violence in conflicts and its human consequences.
Over five thousand dresses were gathered in just one month and were hung at the Prishtina Stadium on Friday, June 12, 2015, during the inauguration of the “Thinking of You” installation by Kosovo artist Alketa Xhafa-Mripa. Dresses that carry real stories, alongside those donated by well-known figures from the country and around the world, came together. The message was clear: there is no difference, and the horrific experiences of raped women are a shared story. Photographs of the installation appeared on the front pages of many prestigious international media outlets (Photo: Alban Bujari).
“It will challenge a wide audience to think more deeply about the lived realities of survivors worldwide and mobilize key decision-makers to take stronger actions in preventing and responding to sexual violence linked to conflict,” Xhafa-Mripa had said at the time. The Hague, seen as the international city of peace and justice, the artist had described as the best place to present this installation. There, the installation was also presented on the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict, on June 19.
The “Thinking of You” project has also been presented in London, Brussels, and Vienna. In these places, dresses have been displayed, and new clothes have also been added. The installation was enriched again on Tuesday. After speeches by the Grand Duchess of Luxembourg about sexual violence in conflict zones and Chébéka Hachemit, president of the Free Afghanistan Association, Xhafa-Mripa was gifted a t-shirt by the Duchess herself, who leads the “Stand, Speak, Rise Up!” association.
