Braids and Bows
(2024)
Kathmandu, Nepal

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Personal project / Final project, Photojournalism, OsloMet

Publications:
It’s In Our Nature (2024)
Magasinet Fotografi (2024)

Presentations:
Oslo Negativ (2024)

Exhibitions:
Copenhagen Photo Festival (2024)
TRD24 (2024)
Dokfest 24 (2024)
OsloMet (2024)
Vega Scene (2024)

Why do schoolgirls wear braids and bows?

– Because it is the uniform.

– It gives the girls a conservative feeling. They look so polite and well-behaved.

– It’s simply tradition.

Out of the roughly 33,000 schools in Nepal, 6,000 are private. 1,500 of them are located in the Kathmandu Valley.

Nepal has nearly 30 million people, and women make up about half of the population. Thirty percent of these women are under 14.

Every morning, a few dozen of these girls gather on the school’s football field. It is 09:30 AM.

– Line up. Feet together. Arms at your sides.

A couple of the students step forward in front of the assembly to practice confidence in front of others. The day before International Women’s Day, Riyana from ninth grade gives a speech.

–Feet together. Arms up. Arms down.

After the morning assembly, they disappear into the classrooms, one after another.

Braid after braid, bow after bow.