Paromita Chatterjee
Paromita Chatterjee is a Kolkata-based visual artist and documentary photographer with over a decade of experience working across India. Her work, focused on women’s issues, gender identity, intersectional equality, and environmental and sociopolitical concerns, has been published in Tehelka, The Wire, The Hindu, BBC, Al Jazeera, and The Caravan. A former staff photojournalist, she has collaborated with leading media agencies and platforms, crafting compelling visual narratives that engage with complex social realities. Paromita is a member of Diversify Photo and a recipient of the 13th Edition 2023 Laadli Media & Advertising Award for Gender Sensitivity, recognizing her commitment to impactful and inclusive storytelling.
About Work
Paromita Chaterjee’s photographic work weaves together stories of empowerment, resistance, and cultural preservation, centering women and girls across diverse Indian landscapes. Her series explores subjects like girls at Ma Anandmayee’s cloistered ashram in Varanasi, where spiritual and educational guidance fosters discipline and inner strength from childhood. In Dribbling Past Patriarchy, Paromita documents girls playing football in Bengal’s villages—acts of everyday defiance against systemic gender inequality. Her lens also follows trailblazing Chau dancer Mousumi Choudhury, who reclaims a male-dominated tradition with an all-female troupe.
From football fields to folk stages, tribal farmlands to gurukuls, Paromita captures how education, sports, culture, and sustainable agriculture become tools for transformation. Her work reflects the courage of women navigating complex realities, reclaiming agency, and challenging societal expectations through community, resilience, and hope.
The girls of Ma Anandmayee’s Kanyapeeth, a cloistered hermitage for girls, relax on the ashram terrace after a busy day at the Gurukul. Varanasi, India.
Standing tall in a field of delicate Kaash flowers, Mousumi Choudhury embodies strength and grace. As the first female Chau dancer from her village, her vibrant costume and resting mask symbolize her courageous journey of breaking barriers and redefining tradition with her femininity and resilience. Puruliya, West Bengal, India.
Sonia Khatoon challenged her cultural & gendered identity and came up against considerable obstacles. She had to face a subtle criticism when she started playing football, where her community people (Parar lok) including her own mother opined about her playing football wearing shorts. This perspective is gradually changed as she continues to win matches at various tournaments. She has also managed to inspire her younger sister who is just 6 years old and already wants to play football like Sonia. West Bengal, India.
Varsha (left) and Saloni (right) lie in quiet reflection, symbolizing hope and resilience in the face of societal norms. Their story represents the fight for gender equality and the transformative power of education in shaping an empowered future for girls in Bhopal, India
Embracing the harmony of tradition and sustainability. A Paroja tribe woman tends to her ancestral land in Koraput, Orissa, India.
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paromita_chatterjee@ymail.com
www.paromitachatterjee.com