Summary Sujatro Ghosh's picture series take Instagram by storm in a bid to highlight lack of women safety
(Web Desk) - A woman sits at a bench in Kolkata quietly writing away on a sheet of paper. In itself the image is so ordinary that for most, it is likely to be unnoticeable. However, what makes the picture stand out is that the woman is wearing a mask, and not just any mask but that of a cow.
Some looking at the mask are expected to assume that the woman is part of some drama club or theatrics society preparing to play out a part. Few are likely to guess that the strange headgear is being worn in order to make a statement on an Instagram series.
An image from the artist’s series. Photo courtesy: Hindustan Times
According to the Hindustan Times, these pictures are part of 23-year-old Delhi-based photographer Sujatro Ghosh’s ongoing Instagram series where he highlights how welfare for women has become unimportant in India and has taken a backfoot to secondary issues, such as cow vigilantism, lynching and even people’s eating habits. As Ghosh puts it, Indians are living in a time when “cows are protected but women are not”. He also says he shot the images in different places including trains, marketplaces and tourist spots to show people that women are not safe anywhere.
.png)
Women geared in a cow mask. Photo courtesy: Instagram
While Ghosh’s images feature cow masks, he says the series is ‘secular’ and is not meant to be a political critique. He also says that he received death threats from people after he began uploading the images on the net but chose not to be intimidated by them.
Woman wearing cow mask in front of Delhi Gate. Photo courtesy: Google Images
So far Ghosh has funded the project from his own savings but now he wants to expand it through crowdfunding. Till now he has shot pictures only in New Delhi and his hometown of Kolkata. However, he wants to take the project across the country and shoot in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kerala and the states of the North East.
Violence against women remains an enduring problem in India with female related crimes such as acid throwing, domestic violence and rape still prevalent across the country.
