ENTRY DESCRIPTION


“I feel like a mermaid. My body tells me that I am a man but my soul tells me that I am a woman. I am like a flower, a flower that is made of paper. I shall always be loved from a distance, never to be touched and no smell to fall in love with.” Heena,51.

My stories are about the people those who are separated from our society. I am working on Trans Genders known as Hijra community in Bangladesh. In today’s world, Hijras hardly get an opportunity to have a normal life. They do not have any school to study, no temple to pray in, no government and private organizations would want to see them in their employee list. They have no access to legal system nor do even health service providers welcome them. After India, Nepal and Pakistan, Bangladesh has recently accepted the Hijras as the Third Gender. I am willing to seize this opportunity to highlight the fundamental aspects of social discrimination, which lead the Hijras to migrate into a foreign land. I would like to show how different religion and culture deal with issues like this differently and adds another dimension towards the social acceptance of Hijras. I have started this self-financed on going project in the beginning of July 2012. I hope my work will help the Hijras to find a breathing space in a claustrophobic society like ours and find new friends in their friendless world.

AUTHOR
Shahria Sharmin is a Bangladesh based documentary photographer who found her way to the profession after pursuing an education in Public Administration from the University of Dhaka. After recognizing that photography would enable her to tell stories and explore humanity she quickly realized that she had found her path. She has been graduated in photography from Pathshala South Asian Media Academy, Bangladesh in 2014

Amongst her recognitions are the Pride Photo Award under the category Getting Closer, Mosco Foto Award in life style category. She was awarded the Alexia Foundation Student Grant for her work “Call me Heena” in 2014.

Shahria's work has been exhibited at Fotovisura Spotlight Exhibition in Brisbane, Obscura Festival in Penang, Photissima Art Fair Torino, Asian Women Photographers' Showcase Lightseekers at Leicester, UK Internazionale d'Arte LGBTE Turin, Pride photo Amsterdam.

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