The winning image, by French photojournalist Elise Blanchard, represents the silent but unwavering resistance of millions of Afghan girls who have been deprived of access to secondary education.
A photograph of a ten-year-old girl from a rural village in Afghanistan, concentrating on her studies at home, in a remote area east of Kabul, won the international competition promoted by Unicef in Germany.
The winning image, by French photojournalist Elise Blanchard, is part of her report “Being a Girl in Afghanistan” and represents the silent but unshakable resistance of millions of Afghan girls who have been deprived of access to secondary education for more than four years, highlighted the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) in a statement.
The photograph shows Hajira, whose eyes appear to be fixed on a school book open on the floor, as if she knows she has little time left to study, the organization added in the statement.
“This year’s winning photo shows what childhood means for many girls in Afghanistan: they have to fight for something that should be obvious, the right to education”, said Elke Büdenbender, patron of Unicef Germany, on Friday during the awards ceremony in Berlin.
With Hajira’s penetrating gaze, Blanchard “provides us with a moment of curiosity and determination” that “reminds us that we should not abandon children like her,” he added.
Unicef states in the statement that more than 2.2 million girls in Afghanistan are currently deprived of access to school and, although primary education is still possible, girls of secondary school age are officially prohibited from studying.
And he also warns of the worsening access to education for boys, with stagnant enrollment numbers and many leaving school early.
The second prize went to photographer Natalia Saprunova, born in Russia and based in France, for an image from her report “Mongolian Children in Danger: The Devastating Impact of Air Pollution”.
Indian photographer Sourav Das received third prize for an image from his report “Children in Jharia coal mines lose their childhood to smoke, fire and the constant fight for survival”, taken in what is known as “the burning city”, as it is one of the largest coal mines in India.
The three works show different facets of the precarious living conditions of millions of children around the world, whose rights are violated daily and who, all too often, remain invisible, highlighted Unicef.
