Motherhood is not a biological destiny – it is a social norm turned into a requirement.
A woman is not merely capable of giving birth – she is defined by that very ability. In societies that construct a woman's identity around motherhood, infertility, miscarriage, and abortion are not simply personal experiences – they are forms of suffering imposed by society. Suffering that society refuses to acknowledge.
When a woman loses a child, she is expected to return to her daily life as if the loss never existed. When a woman is unable to have children, she must endure the silence of those who will always perceive her as “incomplete.”And when a woman chooses to terminate her pregnancy, she must bear the stigma of being labeled“the woman who refuses to fulfill her duty.”
But whose pain is this?
Is it the pain of a body that fails?
The pain of a woman who does not meet expectations?
Or the pain of a society that repeatedly reminds her that she was meant to be a mother?
Social suffering arises from the way society transforms motherhood into the measure of a woman‘s worth. In societies such as Bulgaria and Romania, miscarriage, infertility, and abortion are not only traumatic – they are subjects that remain unspoken.
One in three women will experience a miscarriage.
One in six will face infertility.
One in two will suffer from anxiety or depression.
Thousands will opt for abortion – yet they must do so silently.
But who voices these statistics? Who acknowledges them as significant?
Cultural norms dictate that these are personal decisions and personal tragedies, not social issues. Women suffer in silence because silence is an integral part of the rules. Yet, suffering that remains unseen does not become any less real. These women not only endure loss – they must do so in a manner that does not disturb the social order.
“ONE IN THREE” does not merely present the loss – it makes it visible.
In a world that fails to provide a language for this pain, art creates one. The creators of the exhibition do not depict solely the physical loss – they visualize the social expectation that transforms the female body into a territory of reproductive control. “ONE IN THREE” does not aim simply to inform – it demands understanding. It is an invitation to society to look beyond its comfortable notions of social roles.
The story of womanhood has always been a story of expectations. Women who do not conform to these expectations often remain invisible. Yet the invisible does not cease to exist – it merely awaits expression.
As you experience the exhibition, do not merely observe – contemplate those who live this reality every day. True change will only come when a woman is recognized as more than a mother, more than a body, more than a function.
