Shahria Sharmin: Call Me Heena
We are honoured to present Call Me Heena, the first photobook of Shahria Sharmin (b. Bangladesh). You can also get the book with a limited edition print (see below). The official book launch and accompanying exhibition took place during the opening week of Les Rencontres d’Arles, 7–13 July.
Recognition:
-> Among 10 Finalists for Athens Photo Festival / APhF Pick:26 Award
-> Shortlisted for Photo ESPANA / Best Photography Book of the Year Award
PRESS ABOUT THE BOOK:
Lenscratch/ Laila Nahar
Huck Magazine
Photobook Journal
The Eye of Photography
Call Me Heena is a personal and visual exploration of the Hijra community in Bangladesh
and India — those who live beyond the male-female binary, often misunderstood and pushed
to the margins, yet deeply rooted in South Asian history.
Once revered in Hindu and Muslim traditions, Hijras held sacred roles in royal courts and religious ceremonies. Colonial laws erased that respect, branding them as outcasts. Today,
many still face violence, poverty, and social exclusion.
My journey began with Heena, who welcomed me into her life with honesty and trust.
Through her, I came to know the everyday realities and quiet resilience of this community — women who bless weddings, build chosen families, and long for love and dignity like
anyone else.
This work is my attempt to listen — to witness lives too often overlooked, and to reflect
the tenderness, strength, and survival I have encountered over more than a decade of
knowing them.
I feel like a mermaid. My body says I am a man but my soul knows I am a woman. I am like a flower made of paper: Always to be loved from a distance, never to be touched,
with no scent to fall in love with.
Shahria Sharmin (b. Bangladesh) is a visual artist and documentary photographer based in Dhaka. With a background in Public Administration, she turned to photography as a way to explore questions of identity, belonging, and gender. Shahria’s practice is rooted in long-term, empathetic engagement. She often focuses on stories of family, loss, and social exclusion, using her camera not just to witness, but to build connection. Preferring a slow and tactile approach, she frequently works with a hand-built wooden street box camera — a tool that invites slowness, intimacy, and mutual trust.
Her ongoing project Call Me Heena, which documents the lives of the Hijra (transgender) community in Bangladesh and beyond, reflects her deep commitment to challenging cultural norms and imagining alternate forms of kinship.
Shahria’s work exists at the intersection of tenderness and quiet resistance — a visual meditation on the possibility of finding home among those pushed to its edges.
Shahria's work has been recognized internationally. Selected awards include:
2014 Alexia Foundation, 2nd Place Student Grant
2016 International Photographer of the Year IPOTY
2017 Magnum Photography Award 2017, Juror’s Pick
2017 Women Photograph grant in conjunction with the Pulitzer Center on Crisis, Shortlisted
2019 World Press Photo 6X6 Global Talent from the Asia
2021 Benrido Award by Hariban Award
2024 22nd Julia Margaret Cameron Awards 2024, Category winner
2025 British Journal of Photography’s Ones to Watch
Special Edition
includes the book and one of the two prints above. The print is signed and numbered on the back, printed in an edition of 10 copies, 20 x 30 cm, on Hahnemühle Fine Art Baryta 325 g/m².
Photography & text: Shahria Sharmin
Concept & Design: Calin Kruse
Editing: Calin Kruse, Yana Kruse
Text proofreading: Jessica Mewburn-Lanitis
Lithography: Antonis Granis
Printing & binding: Future Format, Greece
The dummy for this book was created during dienacht Publishing Workshop in Copenhagen.
Hardcover, foil stamped linen
Size: 19 x 24 cm, Duotone printing
104 pages including a pop-out leporelllo and 8 pages printed silver on black paper
16-page booklet on cover, 20-page booklet inside
500 copies
58 € + shipping
Please choose:
