Daughters of Devi: Women's Lives in South India

Lucia Jost's four-week journey through South India, from Mumbai to Kerala, offered a glimpse into the lives of young women. Moving between bustling cities, tranquil villages, and the warmth of family homes, Jost was captivated by the spaces where women live, nurture each other, and envision their futures. The resulting photographs capture encounters with sisters, daughters, mothers, and friends – women whose lives are a tapestry woven from the threads of tradition and the dynamism of a rapidly transforming society.

Jost's photographic lens is drawn to the unspoken connections that underpin daily life: the deep bonds between women, the sanctuaries they create for one another, and the quiet acts of solidarity that sustain them. Across diverse cultural and social landscapes, she discovered a universal language of intimacy. Within kitchens, courtyards, bedrooms, and on the streets, women shared laughter, confidences, gestures of affection, and moments of liberation. These spaces, exclusive to women, became fertile ground for the unfolding of alternative worlds.

(Translation to English below)

For four weeks, I travelled through South India, from Mumbai to Kerala, moving between cities, villages, and family homes. I was drawn to the spaces in which young women live, grow, care for one another, and imagine their own futures. These photographs emerged from encounters with sisters, daughters, mothers, and friends—women whose lives are shaped by tradition, but also by a rapidly changing society.

In my photographic work, I am interested in the relationships that exist beneath the surface: the intimate bonds between women, the spaces they create for one another, and the quiet forms of solidarity that hold everyday life together. Across very different cultural and social realities, I found a familiar language of closeness. In kitchens, courtyards, bedrooms, and on the streets, women shared jokes, secrets, gestures of care, and moments of freedom. These women-only spaces became places where another kind of world could unfold.