Love After The Quake

“You might not see things yet on the surface, but underground it’s already on fire” Y.B Mangunwijaya. 

Over two hundred and fifty million years ago, the continents as we know them today were one mass known as Pangea. For millions of years, Pangea turned itself inside out, the edges of the old continent becoming collision zones.Today the Himalayas sits on one of the world’s most active seismic regions, the Indian plate continues to drive itself into the Tibetan Plateau. This ongoing collision creates irredeemable stress and strain in an invisible world and eventually this rebellious energy is released in a sudden and unstoppable earthquake.Earthquakes sit terrifyingly deep beneath the ground, beyond our sight and understanding. This is compounded as you may see it coming, but ultimately, it is totally unpredictable.

 “Earthquakes are the force of nature humans fear the most” D.R. Prothero.

Love After The Quake is an intimate portrait of two young Nepali woman. Their story delves into the implications of a generation of middle class women, growing up in a time where the rules of communication have dramatically changed. Due to massive internet expansion, awareness among these Nepali women about equal rights is rising, while gender stereotyping remains entrenched around them. The clash between tradition and modernity is shaking their reality.These young women feel trapped in a society bent on forcing them to not be themselves and to stay in their role as women. Their society hinges on extreme patriarchal ideology and operates a harsh and painful devaluation of women who are denied control of their own bodies, wishes, feelings and ultimately, their lives. A suffocating world where almost everything happens behind the curtains. A world where whispers are kept as secrets and sisterhood is essential for survival. Disobedience is their weapon and their path for independence but doing what they want to do instead of what they are told, they also put in risk their family relationships and closest friendships. Tension is building-up, and like the earth was not stable enough to hold them, these young women are rebelling against the establishment around them.