Taslima Akhter (born 1974) is a Bangladeshi activist and photographer. She is a graduate of

Dhaka University The University of Dhaka (also known as Dhaka University, or DU) is a public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is the oldest university in Bangladesh. The university opened its doors to students on July 1st 1921. Currently i ...

, as well as the photography school Pathshala. She is a member of several activist organizations. While documenting the

Rana Plaza collapse The Rana Plaza collapse (also referred to as the Savar building collapse or the collapse of Rana Plaza) was a structural failure that occurred on 24 April 2013 in the Savar Upazila of Dhaka District, Bangladesh, where an eight-storey commercia ...

in 2013, she took a photograph of a woman and a man who had died in each other's arms, which became emblematic of the incident.

Biography

Taslima Akhter was born in

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city ...

, in Bangladesh, in 1974. Akhter is a graduate of

, with Master's degrees in science and in public administration. While at the university, she was a member of the Bangladesh Student's Federation. She went on the study photojournalism at Pathshala, a photography school in

, which was founded by Shahidul Alam. She tries to bring attention to social and environmental issues through her photography, driven partly by her experience during the 2008 political emergency in Bangladesh. Akhter was among those who documented the fire at Tasreen Garments factory in 2012. Akhter has worked on projects in several cities in Bangladesh, as well as in Nandigram in India. Her work led to her receiving the Magnum Foundation scholarship in 2010. Her work has been exhibited in several countries. Akhter is a member of the

women's organization This is a list of women's organizations ordered by geography. International * Alliance of Pan American Round Tables – founded 1916 to foster women's relationships throughout the Americas * Arab Feminist Union – founded 1945 * Associated Cou ...

''Biplobi Nari Sanghati'' and the

leftist Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

activist group ''Gana Sanghati Andolan''. She is also a coordinator of the ''Garments Sramik Sangathan'' (garment worker's union). In addition, she teaches at Pathshala. Akhter's politics have an influence on her photography.

"Final Embrace"

Following the

in April 2013, Akhter and other photographers from Pathshala tried to document the lives of people who had died there, while also taking part in the rescue effort. These stories were later published as a book, titled ''Chobbish April: Hazaar Praner Chitkar'' (24 April: outcries of a thousand souls). The publication was related to Akhter's work with the garment workers' union. During this process, Akhter photographed a man and woman who had died in the building collapse, locked in an embrace with each other. Akhter was unable to identify the subjects of the photograph despite much effort. This photograph, known variously as the "Eternal Embrace", the "Death of A Thousand Dreams", and the "Final Embrace", received widespread critical attention and multiple awards, and became emblematic of the incident, in which 1100 people died. The photograph also received widespread attention online, and led to petitions to clothing companies demanding higher minimum wages and improved safety standards. Akhter described herself a being haunted by the photograph.

Awards

* Third prize for documentary photography at the Julia Margaret Cameron Award, for her documentary ''The Life and Struggle of Garment Workers'' (2010). *''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

'' magazine's "Top 10 Photos of 2013" for "Final Embrace" (2013). * Best Photographer Award from the 5th Dali International Photography Exhibition in China (2013). * Third prize for single photos in the "Spot News" category, World Press Photo competition, 2014.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Akhter, Tsalima University of Dhaka alumni Bangladeshi photographers Bangladeshi activists Bangladeshi women activists Bangladeshi women photographers 1974 births Living people People from Dhaka District