”I have never been loved or respected by anyone in my life except a few early years by my mother,” said Shohan, a transgender woman living in Dhaka who left her family when she was 11.

Her experience is not exceptional in this country, where despite the fact that transgender people – locally known as “hijra” – are legally recognized as “third gender,” discrimination, harassment and violence run rampant. One person showed UNFPA a cut on her hand inflicted by locals; another’s hair had been chopped off. Stigma against persons living with HIV and AIDS and higher-risk populations poses a barrier for accessing health services, especially for the transgender and gender-diverse community.

One year ago this month, Cyclone Amphan unleashed its fury across Bangladesh, killing 26 and damaging thousands of homes, agricultural lands, bridges and roads. But even as the headlines receded like the waters and the news cycle moved on like the winds, four young budding photographers captured life in the south-central part of the country, an area already burdened by the pandemic.

“I asked him the reason why he was abusing my daughter. He told me that Sahar was not a virgin.”