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Behind The Bars
This documentary photography project was taken in the women ward of central prison in North Nicosia, Cyprus with the permissions from Ministry of Internal Affairs and Nicosia Central Prison Directorate.
I can say that this is the first documentary photography work on prisons in Cyprus. But what really matters is to show and for us all to look at the women’s problems from the reality of the prison. I believe that it can make a contribution towards shedding light on many of the problems and hopefully develop proposals to solve them.
During my visits to the prison from September 2014 until June 2015 number of the women prisoners in the ward was around 12 to 19.
Female inmates were in prison for crimes such as murder, drugs, theft, forgery, fatal traffic accident, stumer etc.

We can say that the common feelings of the photographs is that they “hold a light to the details of life at the women’s prison from a special perspective”. Over the high walls of the prison and its iron railings, they turn into witnesses of the lives of convicted women through the lens of my camera.

My purpose behind this documentary photography project is to photograph the women prisoners’ life in prison and demonstrate their everyday life behind bars.
I also try to understand and demonstrate their thoughts and feelings, socio-economic status, crime and punishment rates, reasons that push women to crime and the society's view of women prisoners. I want the society to meet with the women behind the bars through my project and create awareness in the community.

About author:

Buket Özatay EFIAP, RISF3, Master.ICS, Master.USPA
Buket Özatay was born in Nicosia, Cyprus and studied business management and marketing in the USA before completing her MBA degree in Cyprus. She then won an EU grant for a five month training programme at the EU Commission and is now studying for an associate degree in Photography and Filmmaking at the Open University Faculty of Anatolia University. Since 1995 she has jointly run her family company Özatay Photography with her two brothers and is regarded as the first contemporary female photography entrepreneur in the history of Cyprus Turkish photography. Özatay has produced and presented the television programme “Buket Özatay and Photography Enthusiasts” for BRT TV in 2014-15 and also gives beginners photography lessons at the Gönyeli Social Activities Centre (SAM).
Her early photographic portfolio of classical and documentary works took an artistic turn from 1997 when her modernist and abstract compositions brought her to the forefront of Cyprus Turkish photography. Özatay’s works include documentary, portrait, travel and street photography and have been widely published, some as cover pictures, in magazines, newspapers, catalogues and brochures or online. Her photographs have been exhibited in international competitions in 52 countries across six continents and she is the first Turkish Cypriot to have won a first prize in South Cyprus. She was awarded the qualification badge in photography in the USA and France in 2014-15. Özatay is also the first female Turkish Cypriot photographer to win a gold medal in her home country and at international photography competitions held by PSA (Photographic Society of America) and FIAP (the International Federation of Photographic Art). She is also one of the first two women to win the AFIAP in 2014 and EFIAP in 2015; photography artist and excellence titles from the organization which has consultative status at UNESCO

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