3rd place
bronze star award
Maria Contreras Coll
spain 
title
Surekha's Journey
"I don't feel impure or untouchable", she says next to the menstrual "goth" where she is forced to sleep, a mud house built up years ago in order to keep menstrual women away. "I can't believe that I'll have to this every month of my life".
In Nepal, the entry into adulthood is tied to a loss of purity. According to the Hindu faith, menstruation is seen as punishment for all women. It is commonly believed that if a menstruating woman goes inside a house, she will cause misfortune and even death to the community members.
Despite activist's campaigns and government efforts to end the practice, dozens of women and girls have died in the recent years from following this tradition.
Maria Contreras Coll (1991, Barcelona, Spain) is a documentary photographer and photojournalist based in Barcelona, Spain.
Maria became interested in photography at the age of 14 when she was given her first digital camera. She decided to study a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts in Photography at the University of Barcelona (2010-2014). During those years, she investigated the concept of happiness, unrealized dreams and people's hopes overwhelmed by the rush of urban life. Her documentary projects such as “Ah!” and “Persona” were exhibited at the Català Roca Golferichs center in 2013, and at the University of Barcelona in 2014.
After finishing her degree, she studied a postgraduate in Photojournalism (2015-2016) at the Autonomous University of Barcelona as a valedictorian. She spent the next year photographing intimate and personal aspects of the Refugee Crisis in Europe, traveling to affected areas such as Greece, France, Germany or Morocco. After that, she moved to Nepal in 2017 to work on a women’s rights project.
Since then, her work has been published in Aljazeera, Le Figaro or GEO Magazine among others. She has been a guest speaker at the Autonomous University of Barcelona and her work has been shown in places such as Getty Images Gallery in London or in the DocField Festival in Barcelona. Recently she’s been selected for the Women Photograph Mentorship 2017-2018 and to attend the XXXI Eddie Adams Workshop. She was nominated for the Joop Swart Masterclass 2018-2019, and won the Click Grant 2017 to continue with her work in Nepal.
Maria is an enthusiastic and creative person. She has the need to tell people’s stories in a rigorous and well-investigated manner, capturing global problems such as the Refugee European Crisis from a very intimate and personal perspective. She is able to adapt to very different situations, always with
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entry description
Surekha, a 14-year-old girl from a remote village in Nepal, just got her period. For the first time in her life, she will be exiled for a week, a practice known as "Chhaupadi Partha". During these days, she won't be able to enter her own house, her food will be thrown on a specific bowl, and she won't be able to talk or touch any male relative."I don't feel impure or untouchable", she says next to the menstrual "goth" where she is forced to sleep, a mud house built up years ago in order to keep menstrual women away. "I can't believe that I'll have to this every month of my life".
In Nepal, the entry into adulthood is tied to a loss of purity. According to the Hindu faith, menstruation is seen as punishment for all women. It is commonly believed that if a menstruating woman goes inside a house, she will cause misfortune and even death to the community members.
Despite activist's campaigns and government efforts to end the practice, dozens of women and girls have died in the recent years from following this tradition.
about the photographer
ABOUTMaria Contreras Coll (1991, Barcelona, Spain) is a documentary photographer and photojournalist based in Barcelona, Spain.
Maria became interested in photography at the age of 14 when she was given her first digital camera. She decided to study a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts in Photography at the University of Barcelona (2010-2014). During those years, she investigated the concept of happiness, unrealized dreams and people's hopes overwhelmed by the rush of urban life. Her documentary projects such as “Ah!” and “Persona” were exhibited at the Català Roca Golferichs center in 2013, and at the University of Barcelona in 2014.
After finishing her degree, she studied a postgraduate in Photojournalism (2015-2016) at the Autonomous University of Barcelona as a valedictorian. She spent the next year photographing intimate and personal aspects of the Refugee Crisis in Europe, traveling to affected areas such as Greece, France, Germany or Morocco. After that, she moved to Nepal in 2017 to work on a women’s rights project.
Since then, her work has been published in Aljazeera, Le Figaro or GEO Magazine among others. She has been a guest speaker at the Autonomous University of Barcelona and her work has been shown in places such as Getty Images Gallery in London or in the DocField Festival in Barcelona. Recently she’s been selected for the Women Photograph Mentorship 2017-2018 and to attend the XXXI Eddie Adams Workshop. She was nominated for the Joop Swart Masterclass 2018-2019, and won the Click Grant 2017 to continue with her work in Nepal.
Maria is an enthusiastic and creative person. She has the need to tell people’s stories in a rigorous and well-investigated manner, capturing global problems such as the Refugee European Crisis from a very intimate and personal perspective. She is able to adapt to very different situations, always with
back to gallery
