Bangladeshi photographer fired and assaulted for taking a photo of a kissing couple
Jul 31, 2018
Dunja Đuđić
Dunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, concerts, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.
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A young photojournalist Jibon Ahmed recently posted a seemingly innocent photo of a couple sharing a kiss in the rain. The photo was taken at Dhaka University, and this image depicting love quickly went viral. However, it got the photographer in a whole lot of trouble. He was reportedly assaulted by other photographers shortly after posting the photo. According to some sources, he even got fired from his job.
As Resource Magazine reports, protests have been raging on the University of Dhaka’s campus for months. In the middle of these events, Ahmed took a photo that shows love, peace, and affection. He told The Washington Post that his editors refused to publish the image, fearing that it might cause negative reactions. So, he shared it on his social media pages and got a lot of positive feedback. However, conservative members of the society didn’t see anything good about it.
According to Bangladesh News 18, one conservative blogger wrote:
Lovers are getting more audacious by the day. Earlier these things were done in secret. Now they are doing it in broad daylight. The day is not far when they will be making love in public.
Only a day after publishing the image, Ahmed claims that a group of his colleagues physically assaulted him. As if it weren’t enough, he says that only a day after the attack his boss asked him to turn in his ID and laptop. Reportedly, he didn’t give him a reason why he got fired.
After so many unfortunate events caused by a photo of an innocent kiss, Ahmed says he is feeling “disheartened,” but also worried for his safety:
The couple had a spontaneous lip kiss; I found nothing wrong in them or no obscenity,” Ahmed said. “Of course I am disheartened. Some people in our country became educated only in papers, but they are not educated in a real sense. They failed to realize the underlying meaning of my photograph. I am also a bit worried about myself.
Although negative reactions to the photo have caused Ahmed to get assaulted and fired, there are still people who take his side.
Shocking to see the outrage against this photograph and physical assault on the photographer. We should kiss everywhere and we should kiss often. Let’s fight back. One kiss at a time! #kiss #Bangladesh #viral #TSC #moralpolice #photography #jibonahmed https://t.co/1U3rfmYG39
— Shehzeen Choudhury (@ShehzeenSays) July 25, 2018
Personally, I don’t know where to start expressing my opinion on how wrong this is. Nobody deserves to be beaten up, fired, or treated badly in any way for posting a photo that shows love and affection. I know it’s a matter of society and culture, which are different and more conservative than the one I grew up in. Still, I’m with Shehzeen Choudhury on this one. “We should kiss everywhere and we should kiss often. Let’s fight back. One kiss at a time!”
[via Resource Magazine]
Dunja Đuđić
Dunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, concerts, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.
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8 responses to “Bangladeshi photographer fired and assaulted for taking a photo of a kissing couple”
Easy…If you want to publish… get a release form. You can clearly see their faces.
Funny you ignoring the real issue here, cultural ignorance and oppression influenced by religion oppression. Nothing to do with photo release. Read the article.
Yea? that’s the real issue? what about what this couple are now facing, If the photog was assaulted and lost his job for merely posting this Image imagine what those two are going through
And again: cultural ignorance and oppression influenced by religion oppression that resulted in him losing his job (and almost his head) and potentially the couple being in danger too.
By the way, it seems that the photo was posed meaning the couple posed for it.
Don’t bite my head, I am just reacting the the overall ignorance and deep intolerance some have to face in their culture.
Why does this story use an irrelevant stock photo rather than the original in question?
cultural ignorance and oppression influenced by religion oppression.
As shocking as it is, I could see it happening in most countries on the subcontinent, starting—beyond the shadow of a doubt—with India. In fact, I’m not certain it wouldn’t have been worse in India, given the current climate. It’s photos of the sexual assault victims and mob lynchings that people want to see, not two consenting adults kissing.
I’m not a fan of PDA either, but this seems like a disproportionate response.