Photography exhibit: Focusing on the vulnerable side of life

Snapshots of national campaign to curb maternal and child mortality featured.

ISLAMABAD:

Oblivious to the hardships of life, children’s expressions lent inspiration to three photographers who showcased their work at an exhibition at the Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA) on Wednesday.

Through 100 shots, photographers Ayesha Vellani, Usman Ghani and Mohammad Furqan captured women and children from various parts of the country during “Everyone”, a campaign for curbing child and maternal mortality, launched by Save the Children.

Aimed at highlighting the importance of maternal and child health in Pakistan, the exhibition reflected the role of health workers, vaccination and appropriate nutrition play in healthy development of a child.

Each picture highlights the facial expressions of the children. One of the pieces by Usman showed a little girl hiding behind a tree as she watched the vaccination time arrive.

Furqan, who travelled to Chaghi in Balochistan, captured mothers and children as they patiently waited in vaccination camps. One particular photograph that brought smiles to the faces of many children, showed a toddler offering his mother his chocolate bar as they waited their turn in the camp.

“The process was extremely difficult owing to the security situation and I had to cut short my three-day trip to only one day. But perhaps the biggest challenge was to photograph women in a conservative society, I had to get permission from their families,” said Furqan.

Earlier while inaugurating the exhibition, Swedish Ambassador Lars Hjalmar underscored the importance of child health care in country. “The number of children dying before their fifth birthday across the world has almost halved from 12 million to 6.9 million in the last decade. However the target set by Millennium Development Goals to reduce the number by two thirds is still off track,” he said.

Fatima, a visitor, said, “Each photo is poignant; innocent children with their poor parents, their hard hitting images make one realise that we need to come out of our little bubble and be more proactive.”

The exhibition is open to public for approximately two weeks.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 22^nd, 2012.