December 2, 2012

Internationally renowned photographer Thomas L. Kelly’s
latest one-man show, "Adolescent Girls in Nepal - Between Tradition and
Modernity" opens in Kathmandu December 7. (See gallery information
below. Captions provided by the photographer.)
Adolescent girls in today’s Nepal are part of a world in
transition. On the one hand, gender inequality and cultural norms limit their
choices and determine their future from a young age. Internationally, girls of
developing countries remain more vulnerable to poverty, climate change, food
crises, conflict and war. In
Nepal, where they can also face child trafficking, economic exploitation,
domestic violence, sexual harassment and abuse, it’s not surprising that the
picture portrayed by the media and donors is often grim and heart-rending.
But the reality is a complex one that also includes
strength, resourcefulness and encouraging changes. When Kelly set out in
October 2012 to capture the images for this show, he returned with images of
many strong and confident adolescent Nepali girls. These young women are not
mere victims of male dominance, criminal activity and poverty. They are
valuable assets to the positive development of Nepali society, and deserve
attention through a photo exhibition dedicated entirely to them and the
broadening scope of their lives.
Generally speaking, today’s Nepali adolescent girls are more
literate, more educated, and more gender-egalitarian than in the past. Boys and girls alike are far more open
towards an expanded role for women in society. But the modernity that brings so many new dreams and
possibilities, and enables these young people to experience so much more
mobility, freedom and material wealth, also comes with new risks and challenges.
How these young people deal with the challenges facing them, from persistent
vulnerabilities to emerging risks, will set the course for Nepal’s future.
Kelly’s one-man show is important because it puts real faces to these changing
times.

DREAMS: “I want to be a football champion! After practice, I come home and do house hold
chores. I have my dreams. I’ll be a champion.”- Gauri Rana (hay on her head.)
Rana Tharu Village,
Dhangadi, Nepal.

Maoist ex-combatant at Bharatpur Cantonment, Nepal

POLYANDRY: The stability of the family-this is the constant
preoccupation of societies the world over. Among the Nyinba of Nepal, a woman
is expected to have a number of husbands at the same time. It is normally an
arrangement where a woman marries a group of brothers and moves into their
household. Passionate attachment to any one of them is frowned upon, for it
risks alienating the others and threatens to break up the family. While the
practice of polyandry has been explained as a special adaptation to a land where
resources are limited- family property does not have to be divided up when all
brothers are married to the same woman-the Nyinba, in fact, tolerate a variety
of marriage arrangements. They prefer polyandry but permit polygyny, monogamy,
and even “conjoint marriages,” where a man in a polyandrous marriage marries
another woman on the side. Their tolerance contrasts sharply with the Western
insistence on monogamy as the only “natural”family arrangement.
Richen 23, wife Tsering Kanjom, 17, Urgin , 13, Nima Tenzin,
8.
Humla, Nepal.

BEAUTY PARLOR: I noticed the seductive poster outside the parlor and waited
for a customer to enter or exit. The owner of the shop, Rama noticed me
standing outside with a camera and asked me inside. I entered. Inside, a woman
was getting her eye brows plucked. The outside temperature was 36 degrees.
Sweat was pouring down my face. Rama offered me a bench seat and sent her
helper to bring a bottle of Sprite. Questions were asked, “what country do you
come from, what are you doing here, how did you learn to speak Nepalese.” I
explained, and then received the permission to set up my photo.
Dhangadi, Kailali, Nepal.

APPLE HARVEST: Jumla bahinis delight in the harvest. "We live for
these days… our apples are so mitho chha”
Jumla, Nepal.

PARVATI: “Every morning I paint the Shiva lingam tilaka. I bow to Shiva as my protector.”
Jumla, Nepal.

KARNALI TECHNICAL SCHOOL: Exam day. Chandra Rokaya is studying to be a nurse, the
boys, engineers.
Jumla, Nepal

WATER MILL: “I wake up early and know where I have to go. The water mill
room is so cold. I burn corn stalks to stay warm and dream about a time when my
father can afford to send me to the machine room and get our flour grinded. The
days are long, the mill keeps turning and for now, this is my duty.
Jumla, Nepal.

MUSLIM SCHOOL: Dhamboji
Chok, Nepalgunj. Nepal.

BRICK CARRIERS: With more than a million people now living in the Kathmandu
Valley, the demand for housing and office space creates jobs for many under-age children (as well as migrant Bengalis) in the brick factories that populate the outskirts of Kathmandu.

Youth Communist League (YCL)
Sarlahi, Nepal

NEPALI SEX WORKERS and a madam wait for clients in front of the legendary ‘cages’ on Falkland Road, in Mumbai’s
working-class brothel district. It is the destination of many trafficked
children and women. Contrary to the myth of Nepali girls being coveted
for theirgrace and beauty, they are imported to India because they
are cheap.
Falkland Road, Mumbai.Nepali sex workers and a madam wait
for clients in front of the legendary ‘cages’ on Falkland Road, in Mumbai’s
working-class brothel district. It is the destination of many trafficked
children and women. Contrary to the myth of Nepali girls being coveted
for their grace and beauty, they are imported to India because they
are cheap.
Falkland Road, Mumbai.
EXHIBITION INFORMATION:
Opening reception: 7 December at 5.30 pm
The exhibition will be opened by Henning Hansen Chargé
d'Affaires a.i., German Embassy
Thomas L. Kelly will be present at the opening.
Dates of the exhibition: 7- 16 December 2012
Venue: Indigo Gallery, Naxal, above Mike's Breakfast.

More about Thomas L. Kelly
Kelly first came to Nepal in 1978 as a USA Peace Corps
Volunteer, and has since worked as a photo-activist, documenting the struggles
of marginalized people and disappearing cultural traditions all over the world.
Funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation he has been recording the lives
of sex workers and the traditions of prostitution across South Asia. Thomas has
worked extensively for UNICEF, UNDP-Nepal, GIZ, Save the Children Fund (USA),
Aga Khan Foundation, DFID, U.K. , Institute of Child Health (ICH), U.K., on the
subject of child prostitution, trafficking, Safer Motherhood/Saving Newborn
Lives, Conflict and Resolution, and numerous other subjects. His editorial work
has appeared in publications worldwide, including, the New York Times, Time,
Newsweek, National Geographic, and The Observer, U.K., From 1990-1991 he was the
Corporate photographer for The Body Shop Int., UK specializing in documenting
the Press Campaigns of the Company. He currently represents Gamma Press, France
in Nepal.
Apart from photography, he has produced and directed films
and videos on prostitution, violence against women, and esoteric ethnic
practices, among other subjects for Discovery Communications, USA, National
Geographic, and the BBC. He has researched and photographed the books: Sacred
Landscape-Pilgrimage in Tibet: In Search of the Lost Kingdom of Bon, Tibet:
Reflections from the Wheel of Life; The Hidden Himalayas; Kathmandu: City on
the Edge of the World, Abbeville Press, N.Y., N.Y., Fallen Angels: Sex Workers
of South Asia, The Tibetan Book of the Dead, Roli Books Int. New Delhi, India,)
Millennium: Tribal Wisdom and the Modern World, Viking Penguin, N.Y., N.Y. and
Cultural Traditions on Hinduism-Sadhus, Cuerpos Pintados, Santiago, Chile.
Thomas was the AV Technical Advisor for The Youth Expression
Project, YEP, a program in South Asia to help young people (ages 15-23) to
identify and voice their concerns about parental and societal values, HIV/AIDS,
drug abuse, unwanted pregnancy, and sexual abuse. The project was about aiding
them to understand their problems, concerns, hopes, fears, frustrations, and
learning how to use media (writing, photography, video) to express those
concerns on a public platform. Their media outputs were directed to parents,
teachers and the general public.
For more examples of Thomas L. Kelly’s work, visit his website:
http://www.thomaslkellyphotos.com
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