Smita Sharma

On View: Feb 11-Mar 26, 2023

Bronx Documentary Center Annex
364 E. 151st St, Bronx, NY 10455

We Cry In Silence is Smita Sharma’s seven-year-long investigation into cross-border trafficking of minor girls across India, Bangladesh, and Nepal for sex work and domestic servitude. The project focuses on highly organized trafficking rings, unveiling the vulnerability of these young women and why they become trafficking victims. The project aims both to understand this complicated issue and open a dialogue that might spur people to work towards solutions.

© Smita Sharma

Spanish translations by Maria de la Paz Galindo. 

Exhibitions at the Bronx Documentary Center are made possible by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. Foundation support is provided by the Clif Family Foundation, Chris Hondros Fund, Four Friends Foundation, Ford Foundation, Jonathan Logan Family Foundation, Lawrence Foundation, Pierre and Tania Matisse Foundation, Peck Foundation, Scherman Foundation, and the Van Agtmael Fund. Special thanks to our corporate sponsors Adobe, BronxCare Health System, Fujifilm, and Montefiore Health System.

The project has resulted in a multilingual photo book published by FotoEvidence, with illustrations and resources to educate people about this global crime. The book is part of a larger campaign, which includes exhibitions, community events, and free distribution of a 12-page zine in Bengali, Hindi, and English to raise awareness. It is also being distributed to schools and college libraries in India and to anti-trafficking organizations in South Asia.

Smita Sharma is a Delhi-based award-winning photojournalist and visual storyteller. Sharma reports on critical human rights, gender, social justice, and environmental issues in her own community, as well as in the Global South on assignments for Human Rights Watch, National Geographic Magazine, TIME, and other publications. For more information, visit smitasharma.com

The FotoEvidence Association works at the intersection of human rights and photography through the FotoEvidence Book Award and the FotoEvidence W Award for a woman photographer. The organization aims to expand and support the work of FotoEvidence, a publishing house established in 2010, dedicated to documentary photography focused on human rights and social and ecological justice. For more information, visit fotoevidence.com