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The University of Houston canceled an event honoring a statue that has been described as a satanic display of pro-abortion ideology.<\/p>\n
The statue, displayed at the university from February 28 to October 31, 2024, was designed<\/a> by artist Shahzia Sikander to \u201cexplore\u201d the \u201cideas of cultural interconnectedness and female representation.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWitness,\u201d as the statue is called, \u201crepresents an 18-foot golden female figure with arms and legs resembling intertwined roots. She is literally ungrounded, floating and resisting permanence, as she is part of a diaspora whose home is where she chooses,\u201d according to Public Art University of Houston System (USH).<\/p>\n The female figure has \u201cbraids shaped like ram horns\u201d and a skirt \u201cadorned with Arabic writing in mosaic stating \u2018havah,\u2019 and its rings resemble the longitudinal and latitudinal lines on a globe, a proclamation of the figure\u2019s authority in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n Sikander described the statue as stemming from the \u201crecent focus on reproductive rights\u201d in the decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. \u201cIn the process, is the dismissal, too, of the indefatigable spirit of women who have been collectively fighting for their right to their own bodies over generations,\u201d Sikander said in a statement<\/a>. \u201cHowever, the enduring power lies with the people who step into and remain in the fight for equality. That spirit and grit is what I want to capture in both the sculptures.\u201d<\/p>\n The other sculpture referenced in Sikander\u2019s statement is one called \u201cNOW,\u201d a demand for abortion rights.<\/p>\n After pro-life organizations condemned the statue, the university canceled the opening ceremony for the satanic imagery, although UHS said<\/a> the cancellation was \u201cdue to the unavailability of the artist.\u201d<\/p>\n Olivia Torralba, the Legal Operations Supervisor for Students for Life of America, wrote<\/a>, \u201cThose passing by stated the statue was \u2018creepy,\u2019 \u2018ugly,\u2019 \u2018weird,\u2019 or even \u2018anti-feminist.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n President of Texas Right to Life John Seago told EWTN News Nightly<\/a> that the statue \u201ccelebrate[s] disobedience from God through imagery that we find in the Bible.\u201d<\/p>\n The statue was previously displayed in New York\u2019s Madison Square Garden.<\/p>\n