Aashfaria Anwar
Aashfaria Anwar is a British-Bangladeshi photographer, whose work focuses on centring and celebrating people of colour and other marginalised groups by exploring themes like heritage, love and community.
Tribute to The Birangona was born from Aashfaria’s dad, who documented his experiences during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War. Birangona means ‘brave woman’ or ‘war heroine’ – the name the newly founded Bangladesh government bestowed to the 200,000 – 400,000 women and girls that were raped and enslaved at camps during the war.
“I wanted to create a series in dedication to The Birangona. There are programs in Bangladesh to make sure the people are aware of them and remember their stories, but I wanted to spread the awareness further.”