India is a diverse country, separated by class and ethnicity. But all women confront the cultural pressure to bear a son. This preference cuts through every social divide, from geography to economy. No woman is exempt.
This preference originates from the belief that men make money while women, because of their expensive dowry costs, are a financial burden. As a result, there is a near constant disregard for the lives of women and girls. From birth until old age, women face a constant threat of violence and too frequently, death.
The numbers are staggering. Since 1980, an estimated 40 million women are 'missing,' by way of abortion, neglect or murder. 7,000 female fetuses are aborted every day according to the U.N., aborted solely because they are girls. One dowry death is reported every 77 minutes. Countless others are never known.
The government has tried to intervene. Dowry and sex selective abortions are illegal. Yet both practices still thrive, in large part because of deep-rooted cultural prejudices.
Today, eighty percent of Indian states are now facing a shortage of women. To compensate for this differential, young, unknowing women are bought from surrounding countries like Bangladesh and sold to young bachelors. Not knowing a word of the language, these trafficked women now face the same kinds of violence as other Indian women.
Read more: Mothers of a Hundred Sons: India's Dying Daughters.
ABOUT THE ALEXIA FOUNDATION
The Alexia Foundation is about photographs; The Alexia Foundation is about photographers but, most importantly, The Alexia Foundation is about the humanitarian concerns of our crisis-ridden planet. We feel that the best way to get to these issues is through the visual medium. The keystone of our mission is to transform these visual stories into catalysts for change. Please sign up for our newsletter so you, too, can be an agent for change.
Walter Astrada is an extraordinary photographer. When he won the Alexia grant with his proposal on the purposeful elimination of girl babies in India, the judges, although convinced by the compelling work he submitted, wondered how a male would be able to gain access to shoot such a personal and private story on birthing, fractured family dynamics and sexist cultural mores. Well, Walter Astrada is a pretty amazing guy. He tenaciously lived this story for 4 weeks. But, it took its toll on him. He told me recently that he was so morally shaken that he feared he could never go back to India again – certainly not for a long time. Months later, just the smell of curry-laden Indian food evokes strong memories of the horrors he has witnessed.
When we saw the set of still photographs that Walter produced, we felt compelled to do more. Enter Brian Storm and his amazing company MediaStorm. Brian is a member of the Alexia Advisory Council and he and his team transformed Walter’s coverage into this powerful presentation. This collaboration with MediaStorm has helped us move more aggressively toward putting a definitive Alexia stamp for social change on visual journalism.
book now available
for purchase
The Alexia Foundation's "Eyes on the World" book displays the work of 18 past Alexia grant winners and presents work that has been exhibited at the United Nations building in New York, at the Pingyao, China, International Photography Festival, and at the UN Information Centre in Tokyo.
The $40 book is available with credit card at PayPal, or by email request to info@alexiafoundation.org or at the Syracuse University Bookstore. You can preview a segment of the book here.