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Recorded at	December 01, 2021
Event	TEDWomen 2021
Duration (min:sec)	10:10
Video Type	TED Stage Talk
Words per minute	130.51 very slow
Readability (FK)	61.8 easy
Speaker	Smita Sharma


1	00:04	This is Lakhi Ram Lohar.
2	00:08	His job was to spray pesticide at a tea garden in West Bengal, India.
3	00:15	Lakhi was a single father to his only daughter, Sugi.
4	00:20	One day in 2007, Sugi went missing.
5	00:27	Lakhiram went to the local police to file a missing persons report, but he was unable to do so because he was illiterate.
6	00:38	He didn't have Sugi's birth certificate or any of her photographs.
7	00:44	So, the police didn't believe him, and did nothing.
8	00:49	He tried, again and again, but no luck.
9	00:55	It was as if Sugi never existed.
10	00:59	Ten years later, a local nonprofit that fights human trafficking took up her case.
11	01:07	They approached Sugi's school and requested proof that she had attended.
12	01:13	Here is the certificate, issued in 2017, 10 years after her disappearance.
13	01:23	It bothered me that the disappearance of a poor girl doesn't matter to anyone, except her family.
14	01:33	I'm a photojournalist, and I report on critical human rights and social issues, not just in my country, India, but across the Global South.
15	01:44	I see stories like this everywhere.
16	01:48	One of the biggest myths about human trafficking is that it is a developing world problem.
17	01:56	But the reality is that human trafficking is a 150-billion-dollar industry, globally.
18	02:04	The International Labour Organization's 2016 report reveals that 40.3 million people were trafficked into modern-day slavery, out of which 23 million were women and girls.
19	02:20	It's as if girls and women from poor families don't have any value, and their existence or their deaths ...
20	02:31	don't matter.
21	02:32	Their stories are mostly unseen and unheard.
22	02:37	But it's important to see these stories and not look away.
23	02:43	Photographs inspire compassion and enhance our understanding of the world.
24	02:48	It is a powerful tool for making connections with people.
25	02:53	But when we undertake the task of sharing people's lives, we have an added responsibility.
26	02:59	Are we representing them with dignity and fairness?
27	03:03	Are we telling the whole story or just a part of it?
28	03:08	I'm very conscious about stereotypes and how I represent people.
29	03:14	Life can be harsh for poor girls from these countries.
30	03:19	Boys are given preferential treatment, while girls are expected to do household chores -- cook, clean, fetch water, and take care of their younger siblings.
31	03:31	Often, parents tend to marry their daughters early so they would become someone else's responsibility.
32	03:40	Basic education is free in many developing countries, but students still need to buy books and uniforms, and when putting even two meals on the table is a struggle, schools can seem like a luxury.
33	03:57	So when I went to Nepal a few years ago, to document child marriage for Human Rights Watch, I thought the girls I would meet were forced by their parents to marry.
34	04:10	What I saw was a bit different.
35	04:12	The girls I met wanted to escape a grim situation and gain some control of their lives.
36	04:20	When Tilmaya was 11, her father took her out of school and sent her to Pokhara to work as a domestic maid.
37	04:28	When she was 15, she eloped and married a 20-year-old man from her village.
38	04:35	This is Sharmila.
39	04:36	Sharmila's parents tried to separate her from her boyfriend, so she ran away with him.
40	04:42	She was 14, he was 18.
41	04:45	When I took this image of her, Sharmila was seven months pregnant.
42	04:50	She said she regrets leaving school and marrying early and that she had no knowledge of reproductive health or family planning.
43	05:00	So why would girls leave the safety of their families, drop out of school?
44	05:08	For nothing?
45	05:10	To gain some control of their future.
46	05:15	At least, in this case, they were able to choose their own partner.
47	05:20	I try to dig deep and show the nuances of the situations, because often, poor women and girls are stripped of their equity and dignity.
48	05:31	I would not have taken these photographs if the girls didn't want me to.
49	05:38	And I work very discreetly, keeping a low profile, and go to great lengths to avoid attention.
50	05:47	I carry minimum gear and this dirty-looking tote bag, which my mother hates.
51	05:54	(Laughter)
52	05:56	The idea is to blend with the crowd.
53	06:00	Even if I dress simply, it's understood I am from the city.
54	06:05	So I tell people I'm a researcher into female hygiene.
55	06:10	I started carrying sanitary napkins in my purse.
56	06:15	Men are so embarrassed, they leave me alone.
57	06:19	(Laughter) (Applause)
58	06:25	The women offer me tea, and I sit and chat with them for hours, until they get bored of me.
59	06:32	That's when my real work begins.
60	06:35	The family knows there will be no gossip or any unwelcome scrutiny, as I had already been to 10 different houses.
61	06:45	Everyone in the village just assumes I was there to speak about menstruation.
62	06:51	I'm very careful that my work does not disrupt the lives of the people I photograph, while I'm there and long after I've left.
63	07:02	I do hours of research before diving into a new territory, honoring people's culture, abiding by local laws.
64	07:11	Asking permission, seeking informed consent and not leading with my camera has been the foundation of my work.
65	07:20	And this has helped me overcome many hostile situations.
66	07:27	While working on a project called "Not My Shame," documenting sexual violence in my country, India, I met a young girl I’ll call Beena.
67	07:39	Beena was abducted and repeatedly raped by a distant relative.
68	07:47	This man was also a very powerful person in the community.
69	07:53	While I was sitting with Beena at her house, a huge crowd had gathered outside.
70	08:01	Hearing loud voices, I went out, only to be surrounded by a group of hostile men.
71	08:08	The men snatched my camera bag, tore off my purse, and started berating me.
72	08:16	My first thought was to protect Beena and her family, and also myself.
73	08:23	I tried to appear calm, although I was scared.
74	08:29	The men said they thought I was there ... to disrupt their lives and spoil the village's reputation.
75	08:39	I told them I was there to learn about their lives and culture.
76	08:45	By the end of our conversation, an hour later, these same men offered me tea and snacks.
77	08:53	Despite this incident, Beena and her family wanted me to share her story with the world.
78	09:00	Beena’s story matters, so does Sugi's, and hundreds of women's and girls' like them.
79	09:09	Their stories would not have been seen or heard if people like me didn't show them.
80	09:17	We need to start valuing them.
81	09:20	The first step to any change is acknowledgment and awareness.
82	09:28	Otherwise, this cycle of harm will continue.
83	09:34	These women and girls exist.
84	09:40	And the reason I'm telling you this is because we were lucky enough to be born in very comfortable circumstances.
85	09:50	We won the birth lottery.
86	09:54	These women have values.
87	09:56	They exist.
88	09:59	The least we can do is honor them and not look away.
89	10:05	Thank you.
90	10:07	(Applause)

Smita Sharma: Powerful photos that honor the lives of overlooked women