“The selection committee felt Tara’s work sets a sky-high bar for digital journalism that’s practiced in challenging conditions and takes on critical stories and issues. She’s exhibited a rare combination of bravery, digital savvy and eye-catching visual skills, and her work as co-founder of Vignette Interactive has driven storytelling in exciting new directions across the Middle East.”
I also had the privilege of taking over the World Press Photo Instagram feed, to display some of my project on reproductive rights from Nepal. I was in Nepal working on stories about women’s access to abortion, through a grant from the European Journalism Centre. There will also be a story next month about this topic on World Press Photo’s on-line magazine Witness, so stay tuned!
Here are a few of the photos I have posted. For more go to their amazing feed full of powerful photography.
Ramshakhi Dev, age 32, left, sits with her youngest child, Bibek, age 7, in their village Hariharpur 10, outside Janakpur, Nepal, July 7, 2017. Dev had an abortion after getting pregnant again for the fifth time. She wasn’t using contraception because her husband lives abroad and after she realized she was pregnant she went to a pharmacy and got the pills. She took them, without complication, but there was no follow up after the abortion. Nepal legalized abortion 15 years ago, and public and private facilities have been set up to provide the procedure. However, because of issues like stigma, lack of education, and distrust of government facilities, most women don’t ask important questions of the health care providers, to see if a clinic/pharmacy has proper authorization from the government, or what they should do in the event of medical complications. And according to a recently released survey by the Center for Research on Environment, Health and Population Activities (CREHPA) more than half of Nepalese women got abortions by illegal providers in 2014. In January of 2017 the government of Nepal made all abortion and contraception services free in the country, which is an important step to help women get better services. But most women hadn’t heard about the new initiative, and there wasn’t a concerted campaign by the government to get the message out to local communities. This is an example of one of many issues with abortion access in Nepal. (Photo Credit/Tara Todras-Whitehill/European Journalism Centre/Vignette Interactive)
Ramshakhi Dev, age 32, second right, stands with her youngest child, Bibek, age 7, left, and her eldest daughter Mamata, age 18, at the entrance to their home in their village Hariharpur 10, outside Janakpur, Nepal, July 7, 2017. Dev had an abortion after getting pregnant again for the fifth time. She wasn’t using contraception because her husband lives abroad and after she realized she was pregnant she went to a pharmacy and got the pills. She took them, without complication, but there was no follow up after the abortion. Nepal legalized abortion 15 years ago, and public and private facilities have been set up to provide the procedure. However, because of issues like stigma, lack of education, and distrust of government facilities, most women donÕt ask important questions of the health care providers, to see if a clinic/pharmacy has proper authorization from the government, or what they should do in the event of medical complications. And according to a recently released survey by the Center for Research on Environment, Health and Population Activities (CREHPA) more than half of Nepalese women got abortions by illegal providers in 2014. In January of 2017 the government of Nepal made all abortion and contraception services free in the country, which is an important step to help women get better services. But most women hadn’t heard about the new initiative, and there wasn’t a concerted campaign by the government to get the message out to local communities. This is an example of one of many issues with abortion access in Nepal. (Photo Credit/Tara Todras-Whitehill/European Journalism Centre/Vignette Interactive)
N, who wants to remain anonymous, nurses her young son at her in-laws house where she lives in Janakpur, Nepal, July 9, 2017. N was raped by her husband’s friend when she first was married five years ago, and became pregnant after the rape, but didn’t know if was from her husband or the rapist. She wanted to keep the child, but her family didn’t want her to, and her mother-in-law demanded she use a homeopathic method to abort the baby. She ate papayas for three days which she insists made her have an abortion. She wasn’t aware that abortion was legal in Nepal and feels bad about it because she feels that she killed a life. She now has a newborn with her husband who works most of the year in Saudi Arabia. Nepal legalized abortion 15 years ago, and public and private facilities have been set up to provide the procedure. However, because of issues like stigma, lack of education, and distrust of government facilities, most women donÕt ask important questions of the health care providers, to see if a clinic/pharmacy has proper authorization from the government, or what they should do in the event of medical complications. And according to a recently released survey by the Center for Research on Environment, Health and Population Activities (CREHPA) more than half of Nepalese women got abortions by illegal providers in 2014. In January of 2017 the government of Nepal made all abortion and contraception services free in the country, which is an important step to help women get better services. But most women hadn’t heard about the new initiative, and there wasn’t a concerted campaign by the government to get the message out to local communities. This is an example of one of many issues with abortion access in Nepal. (Photo Credit/Tara Todras-Whitehill/European Journalism Centre/Vignette Interactive)
A woman works in a field burning trash on the road from Janakpur to Kathmandu, Nepal, July 9, 2017. Nepal legalized abortion 15 years ago, and public and private facilities have been set up to provide the procedure. However, because of issues like stigma, lack of education, and distrust of government facilities, most women donÕt ask important questions of the health care providers, to see if a clinic/pharmacy has proper authorization from the government, or what they should do in the event of medical complications. And according to a recently released survey by the Center for Research on Environment, Health and Population Activities (CREHPA) more than half of Nepalese women got abortions by illegal providers in 2014. In January of 2017 the government of Nepal made all abortion and contraception services free in the country, which is an important step to help women get better services. But most women hadn’t heard about the new initiative, and there wasn’t a concerted campaign by the government to get the message out to local communities. This is an example of one of many issues concerning information about abortion in Nepal. (Photo Credit/Tara Todras-Whitehill/European Journalism Centre/Vignette Interactive)
Pabitra devi Mahato, 35, searches for a document in her house, in the village of Hariharpur, outside Janakpur, Nepal, July 8, 2017. Mahato has three kids and suffers from uterine prolapse. She was getting injections for contraception, but she missed one and became pregnant. She decided to terminate the pregnancy, and went to a local clinic who charged her 1,500 Nepali Rupees which is an a very high price, and is more than Mahato makes in four days as a farmer. She had no idea that contraception and abortion services were now free in Nepal. Nepal legalized abortion 15 years ago, and public and private facilities have been set up to provide the procedure. However, because of issues like stigma, lack of education, and distrust of government facilities, most women don’t ask important questions of the health care providers, to see if a clinic/pharmacy has proper authorization from the government, or what they should do in the event of medical complications. And according to a recently released survey by the Center for Research on Environment, Health and Population Activities (CREHPA) more than half of Nepalese women got abortions by illegal providers in 2014. In January of 2017 the government of Nepal made all abortion and contraception services free in the country, which is an important step to help women get better services. But most women hadn’t heard about the new initiative, and there wasn’t a concerted campaign by the government to get the message out to local communities. This is an example of one of many issues with abortion access in Nepal. (Photo Credit/Tara Todras-Whitehill/European Journalism Centre/Vignette Interactive)
Women cry while in labor at the Paropakar Maternity and Women’s Hospital in Kathmandu, Nepal, July 10, 2017. Nepal legalized abortion 15 years ago, and public and private facilities have been set up to provide the procedure. However, because of issues like stigma, lack of education, and distrust of government facilities, most women donÕt ask important questions of the health care providers, to see if a clinic/pharmacy has proper authorization from the government, or what they should do in the event of medical complications. And according to a recently released survey by the Center for Research on Environment, Health and Population Activities (CREHPA) more than half of Nepalese women got abortions by illegal providers in 2014. In January of 2017 the government of Nepal made all abortion and contraception services free in the country, which is an important step to help women get better services. But most women hadn’t heard about the new initiative, and there wasn’t a concerted campaign by the government to get the message out to local communities. This is an example of one of many issues concerning information about abortion in Nepal. (Photo Credit/Tara Todras-Whitehill/European Journalism Centre/Vignette Interactive)
By Tara Todras-Whitehill
Tara worked as a staff photographer for the Associated Press for four years in the Middle East, covering the uprisings, revolutions and numerous elections in the Arab world. Her photography has been featured in the New York Times, National Geographic and Washington Post, among many others. She also works on personal projects focused on women's issues. Her passion is trying to portray strong women changing their lives and the world around them.
Brilliant work Tara – well deserved. Congratulations.
Amazing pictures