Smita Sharna. Hargila Army.

Members of the all-women Hargila Army led by biologist Purnima Barman sport stork masks and pose for a portrait at Dadara village in Assam, India. The group of around 400 members are fighting to save the Greater Adjutant Stork, locally called Hargila, meaning 'bone swallower'. The women from the village practice local cultural norms and work through grassroots community efforts to help save the endangered scavenger bird.

Smita Sharma is Delhi based award winning photojournalist and visual storyteller reporting on critical human rights, gender, social justice and environmental issues in her own community as well as in the Global South on assignments for Human Rights Watch, National Geographic Magazine, TIME and other publications.

Follow Smita on Instagram @smitashrm.