FT.COM/MAGAZINEOCTOBER19/202019 35
T
he womenby the waterlook like
old friends.Fromtheirspontaneous
grinsto the intimacywith whichthey
turnto eachother,itisamomentof
uncomplicatedjoy.But behindtheirsmilesliesa
less ordinary story.The womenaresex workers
waitingoutsidetheHouseofParliamentbuilding
in Dhaka,Bangladesh, to handout condomsfor
protection against HIV/Aids to fellowworkers.
The photograph,taken in 1996,isone of the
earliest of abodyofimages by ShahidulAlam,
entitled“Still She Smiles”.The serieshas seen the
Bangladeshi photographer,alongside 11 others,
shortlistedfor the PrixPictet 2019. Thisyearthe
subject of theprizeisHope.
Thatsentimentshinesthrough“Still She
Smiles”.Its star is Hazera Beagum, the woman
pictured sitting on the wallinthe parliament
photograph.In otherimages, she is seen with
children, bathingthem,kissing them,picking
lice from theirhair.Asmile dancesonher face,
witness to her achievementin escaping alife
whereshe was raped,sold and beaten.
Today, Hazera presidesoveranorphanage in
Dhaka, whichshe foundedin2008 withher own
savings. Alreadysomeof her formerchargeshave
graduatedfromuniversity; othersare in school.
WhenIask whyhe choseHazera’s storyfor his
Pictet callingcard, Alam replies: “Wetend to
associate people withcertain characteristics...
sexworkers areseenasacertaintypeofperson.
Thefactthattherewas this incredible,beautiful
woman–beautifulinall senses–who was
stigmatisedbecauseshe was asex worker.
Yet, despite thelife she had led, and whatshe
had faced, shestill took it upon herselftogive
hope to others.”
Similar words couldbe applied to Alam too.
Aslight,immaculate figureinwhitetrousersand
elegant greypunjabi–atraditional southAsian
shirt –the 64-year-old is sittinginthe livingroom
of hissister NajmaKarim’s houseinEaling,
west London. On hiskneesits his six-year-old
great-niece, Lylah, whois keen to co-opt his help
forher drawingsonhis iPad.
Ayear ago,however,the situationwas very
different.Alam wasinprison in Dhakaand his
sister’s homewas the LondonHQ of aglobal
campaigntoreleasehim. His incarceration was
triggered by criticismhe levelledatBangladesh’s
AwamiLeague government during student
protests in the summerof2018.Initiallyfuelled
by anger at Dhaka’spoortrafficlaws,aftertwo
teenagerswere killedbyabus,the scaleofthe
protestand brutal police responsewas rooted
in morewidespread rageat statecorruption,
violence and inequality.
On August 5, afterlivestreamingthe protests
on Facebook, Alamgave an interviewto
Al Jazeera, in whichhelaidout the accusations
against the government and theprimeminister,
Sheikh Hasina. Thatnighthe was arrestedathis
home and subsequentlyimprisoned andtortured
in an effort to force him to cease speaking out
against Hasina’s regime. Hiscapturetriggered
acampaign for his release that includedNobel
laureates, movie stars,artistsand writers,as
well as hundredsofordinarycitizenswho
admired himfor theintegritywithwhichhe
approacheshis work.
Alamwas imprisoned for 107 days.His case
was filedunderBangladesh’s Information,Communicationand TechnologyAct (since
replacedwith the equallyharshDigital Security
Act), whichcan silence dissident voicesona
chargeof “hurtingthe imageofthe nation”.
On November 20,hewas finallyreleasedon
bail.It was the mostharrowing chapterof alife
devotedtoexposinginjustice.Over the years,
he has beenarrestedseveral times, knifedinthe
streetand foughtto keep exhibitionsopenwhen
the police attempted to closethem.
The son of ascientist and achild psychologist,
Alamwasstudyingfor adoctorate in chemistry
at theUniversityof Londonin the 1980swhen
he acquiredhis first camera from afriend.His
earliestprofessionalimages were portraits of
childrenbut he always sawhis camera as atool
in the struggle forcivil rights.“I’ve neverbeen
that interestedinart for art’ssake,”hehas said.
ALondon ArtsCouncilaward encouragedhim to
pursuephotography as acareer.
Long beforethis,however, Alamhad noticed
thatvisualmedia couldbe asource of crucial
information and inspiration.He was just 15
whenBangladesh foughtfor independence
from Pakistanin1971’s“war of liberation”,
but recalls, “Weweresohungryfor images.
Someone would smuggle in TimeorNewsweek
and thoseimages–of jubilantfreedom fighters
challengingthe regime,for example–gaveus
so muchhope.”
Alam’s love for his countryis adefining
characteristic. He returnedtoBangladesh in 1984
and, despiteongoing legalchallenges, it is still
his home, althoughhe is entitledtoremaininthe
UK.His pictures bear witness to the countryin
allits complexity.“AStruggle forDemocracy”,an ongoingworkthat wasfirst shown in 1989,
chronicledthe popularresistancetothe regime
of GenErshad, presidentfrom1983-90.Itis
described by Bangladeshi photography curator
Tanzim Wahabasa“frankand fearlesspiece
of storytelling”thatinvestigates eachlayer
ofthenewdemocracy,including“indigenous
rightstruggles,votingrights,environmental
catastrophe,Islamicmovements,hostile political
leadershipand classstruggles”.
In laterseriessuchas“Crossfire”(2009-
10), Alamfocusesonextrajudicial killings
by Bangladeshi statesecurity forces,and in
“Kalpana’s Warriors”(2015),heexplores the
1996 “disappearance”ofactivist KalpanaChakma
as she campaignedfor the rights of indigenous
people in Bangladesh’s Chittagong Hill Tracts.
Alamhas agift for revealing people’s suffering
without compromising individualdignity.Asked
howheachievesthe balance,he repliesquietly:
“A photograph is as much aportraitof youasof
the personyou arephotographing.”
He does not regardhimselfprimarily as a
photojournalist.“I’ve produced far less work
thanothers,” he observes.“Iwantedmywork
to makeadifference.[And]Icoulddo it through
my photography.But Icouldalsodoitthrough
building warriors”–areferenceto the band
of photographershehas inspired.His first step
was to found the DrikPictureLibrary in 1989,
to represent photographersas theychronicled
resistancetoErshad.In 1998,hefounded
an academy, the PathshalaSouthAsian Media
Institute. Twoyears later,heinaugurated
ChobiMela, southAsia’s first international
photographyfestival.▶