In Bangladesh, one of the most common ways to take vengeance on a young woman who refuses to accept an affair with a young man is for the latter to use violence against her, with the help of some of his friends, and to take pictures and videos, in order to publish them on Internet.

I'm not saying that the people I photographed intended to do that, but thousands of cases are reported each year and a lot are not, because of the fear and the shame.

It is one of the most violent and unpredictable countries of the world. Anything can happen and the police is, most of the time, inefficient or too corrupted to take action.

Most of local gang members, called "mastaans", use motorbikes. I was introduced to some of them, but couldn't check if they really belonged to organized crime. These pictures are, therefore, no testimonies, but just illustrations of everyday life in the country.

Police and Thieves

Powerful street gangs rule the everyday life of many inhabitants of Bangladesh. They are linked to the police, who is also controlled by powerful politicians, pulling the strings.

In most districts, they decide which local businessmen to support and which to put pressure on, in order to extort money, using all sorts of intimidations.

Just as this diptych shows, photographed in the capital of Bangladesh, Dacca, "bananas are unpolitical fruits"... It could be an Andy Warhol quote...

The same should go for the guns owned by policemen and other law enforcement agencies. But it is rarely the case, unfortunately. Let's hope the new governments of the country will impose neutrality. But many fear they will not

For real progress to occur, a change of mentality is needed. Who, or what, can make it happen?

Rickshaw

Bangladesh is one of the most dangerous countries for young women. Many are afraid to take the public transports, for fear of being assaulted.