The SPEAK theme house at Southern Nazarene University has partnered with 18 year old freshman Jasmine Abraham to host the first Stop the Traffic Fashion Show in Herrick Auditorium on March 27th at 7:00 p.m.
This fashion show will bring awareness to sexual exploitation through the spring selections of clothing for men, women and children. Along with this event, there will be entertainment, refreshments and prizes. All you have to do is pay ten dollars online or at the door!
I had the privilege of interviewing Jasmine Abraham, as well as those who are participating in this event. As I interviewed Abraham, I asked her more about her involvement with the anti-human trafficking movement. Abraham started out by telling me that she first found out about human trafficking in November of 2011, and since then, she has been working to spread awareness and raise money for different organizations that combat trafficking.
Last year, Abraham held the Stop The Traffic benefit concert at her high school for two anti-human trafficking organizations: No Boundaries International and Beautiful Dream Society.
This year, she wanted to try something “a bit different.” All proceeds made at the Stop The Traffic Fashion Show will benefit She’s Somebody’s Daughter, an organization that confronts sexual exploitation at all levels.
Abraham also mentioned that many people have asked her why SPEAK is hosting a fashion show, since most people associate fashion shows as just another way to “exploit women.” Jasmine’s response to this was that, “when people come to Stop The Traffic, we want them to see that fashion can convey beauty without exploiting men and women. It can show beauty through expression of personality and individualism instead of skin.”
“Beyond the fabric and textures, we want to use fashion to showcase that beauty can rise from ashes, because everyone has a story to tell,” said Abraham. “We want to showcase these stories through the fashion show. Usually when we see a model for a magazine or runway, we don’t think about the person behind the clothes. We think about the outfit. With Stop The Traffic, we want to emphasize that the person modeling the clothing is more important.”
On the topic of how being a model can contribute to the hope for those who are being trafficked, Rebekah Jeong, junior, said, “usually with models, models are looked at as objects of desire rather than being looked at as humans. This is a representation of how victims of human trafficking are looked as, and with these models at SNU walking the runway, we want to point out that instead of looking at models as objects, that we can look at them with love and compassion. These models walking the runway are symbolizing that we will not look at these victims as objects, but as our brothers and sisters.”
I hope that everyone comes out to support these young women in their endeavor to stop the traffic that has put young women at a standstill for hope and freedom.
Tickets can be purchased here.
[author image=”http://echo.snu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/IMG_8842.jpg” ] Deanne Brodie-Mends, Staff Contributor She is majoring in Mass Communication with a minor in English. She enjoys writing, performing spoken word, attending Church, and spending quality time with friends and family. She describes herself as outgoing and enjoys making people smile. [/author]