Meeri Koutaniemi
Today I’m introducing another talented and inspiring woman, who
despite her young age, has already received recognition for her work through multiple
international awards, such as the Photographer of the Year in Finland (2012 and
2013), the Memorial award of Tim Hetherington (2013), the Memorial Award of
Carina Appel (2013), the Visa D’or Daily Press Award and the FreeLens Award
(2014). She is Meeri Koutaniemi, a Finnish photographer and journalist, whose reports cover various aspects of human rights, war, poverty and the oppression
of minorities. These stories come from over 50 countries and the photographic reports have been shown in over 40 exhibitions around the world.
The report of female genital mutilation by
circumcision of young girls in the Masai tribe made Koutaniemi’s name known to the
general public. Girl’s circumcision has been illegal in Kenya since 2001 but it
still lives on among some of the tribes due to its cultural and religious roots.
The report brought Koutaniemi multiple awards, but at the same time it received
some negative media attention and critique in Finland. Some of her other reports cover the inhumane
practice of selling young girls as Kamalaris slaves in Nepal; the Syrian war;
the treatment of refugees in Finland; the lack of support for HIV-positive men
in Mexico and the epidemics of blindness in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Koutaniemi’s topics are always thought-provoking and
personally I admire her courage and her ability to stay true to herself in
continuing her work despite the critique and the dangers of her work. I feel immense respect for people who can put their life at risk in order to report human rights violations and other inhuman and illegal practices. Most people couldn't do it, including myself. I can only thank her for her humanitarian work
and wish she will be able continue bringing light into these important issues
since only by knowing about them, can we help in solving them.
Photo taken by Petri Virtanen / Finnish National Gallery/ wikicommons
Here are the sources I used. You can find more details of Koutaniemi's work from them.
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