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Online Photo Exhibition of Women and Girls in Prostitution

The Daughters of Darkness by Shehzad Noorani. http://www.childtrafficking.com/Content/Gallery/

"No matter how hard you try, you won't even come close to understanding our grieves." Najma, a young sex worker. There are worlds within worlds, completely hidden from most of us. Bound by basic curious nature, every now and then, someone takes a peak and comes back with words or pictures, to speak about the strange hidden worlds. More often than not, this
results in impressions that seem exotic, foreign, beyond. In the case of prostitution, we either tend to see it as a bad element of society or treat them as people in vulnerable situations. Exactly because of this, we fail to give them a chance to be what they are - ordinary people. Their basic humane aspects and sensibilities are too often ignored. There are also tales that penetrate too deep into their lives and show gross images beyond the curtains - images depicting scenes from their personal or professional lives, leaving no room or respect for their privacy. Or we disguise their identities assuming we are protecting them and in the process, we take away their right to be. In our effort to protect the identities of the 'vulnerable,' we mask their eyes with black tapes, and whether intended or not, make them look like criminals. Sometimes these dark areas are actually dark, but at time we fail to open our eyes. We approach such issues with closed minds and try to fit every thing we see into pre-constructed boxes. Thus, in spite of all the efforts, the daughters of darkness remain in the dark." Shehzad Noorani.

The 39 photos of Shehzad Noorani - taken in Bangladesh, India and Nepal - give a deep insight about their lives.

Shehzad Noorani has worked as a freelance documentary photographer with a special focus on social issues since 1987, and has covered major crisis situations resulting from wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Sudan and natural calamities in Sri Lanka (Tsunami), Iran (Bam Earthquake) and Bangladesh (Flood 1988 &1998 and Cyclone 1991 & 1993). He has edited pictures for numerous publications and multi-media presentations, and set up conventional and digital picture libraries for many United Nation Organizations across the World. His photo exhibitions have been held in Bangladesh, Denmark, France, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Switzerland, Thailand, United Kingdom and the United States of America. For his exemplary work he has been a recipient of prestigious awards such as Mother Jones International Award for Documentary Photography in 2000 and an honorable mention from National Geography All Road Photographer's Program in 2005. He has also made a contribution in the book titled "Fallen Angels," depicting gripping sex trade scenario in South Asia.