The Cross-Cultural Bond of Women
Life will try to convince you Women don't belong in certain spaces, but in my case, it's not my camera allowing passage into the intimate moments of life, but the cross-cultural bond of women.
This was a young mother having contractions in a village hospital in Northern Tanzania, when she allowed me to document her warrior strength and grace as her laboring increased. She was alone in the small room as her Aunties and Sisters all waited patiently outside, nobody permitted in the room.
A recent Mother myself, who had faced trauma on a birthing table alone in a foreign hospital, I dropped my camera and grabbed her hand. As another contraction serged we breathed in sync the way I remembered.
I visualized the power of women in that room…all women…together…breathing like warriors.
all women…together…breathing like warriors
These photos were captured on assignment for charity: water as I documented the water access of the hospital. All photos were taken with translated and written consent. If you’re ever questioning if the photos you’re taking are without somebody’s consent, check out my Ethic’s in Humanitarian Photography post for some quick guidelines.
TARA SHUPE
is a Humanitarian Photographer and filmmaker, constantly traveling with a camera attached to the hip and a notebook in her pocket. With the goal of not simply creating beautiful content, she approaches each story with intention, ethics and relationships at the forefront, resulting in powerful storytelling that nudge people’s hearts while challenging their actions.
