Pulitzer Center Update

NatGeo Your Shot Features Photos of Inspiring Women

March 03, 2017 | General news
By
Ifath Sayed
“Far away from the nearest modernized city in Qinghai, I traveled with Oxfam for about 10 hours to visit the Tibetan students staying in this boarding school. Instead of rushing back to their room after lunch to play with their smartphone or tablet, these kids are finding a suitable place in this small room packed with eight students so they can take out their books and start studying.” Image by Antonio Leon, National Geographic Your Shot. China, 2017.

“Far away from the nearest modernized city in Qinghai, I traveled with Oxfam for about 10 hours to visit the Tibetan students staying in this boarding school. Instead of rushing back to their room after lunch to play with their smartphone or tablet, these kids are finding a suitable place in this small room packed with eight students so they can take out their books and start studying.” Image by Antonio Leon, National Geographic Your Shot. China, 2017. 

The Pulitzer Center partnered with Your Shot–National Geographic’s photo community made up of over 800,000 photographers from 195 countries–to create photographic assignments focused around Pulitzer Center reporting and issues. The first assignment, "Strong Women," was to share the stories of strong women in your lives, and to answer the question: “What inspires you about the woman or women you photographed?”

Here are some of the photos featured by NatGeo Your Shot.

This is my grandmother. She lives in the southern Romanian countryside and she won’t let me photograph her unless her hair is combed. She rarely leaves the house, not to mention the village. The last time she went to the city was almost a year ago; that day she learned how the checkout treadmill works during a visit to the supermarket. Image by Felicia Simion, National Geographic Your Shot. Romania, 2017.

This is my grandmother. She lives in the southern Romanian countryside and she won’t let me photograph her unless her hair is combed. She rarely leaves the house, not to mention the village. The last time she went to the city was almost a year ago; that day she learned how the checkout treadmill works during a visit to the supermarket. Image by Felicia Simion, National Geographic Your Shot. Romania, 2017.

“This is a young mother with five children, the youngest a few days old. They live on a mountainside in a tiny shack crafted from whatever materials they find to create walls and a see-through roof. There is no running water, no electricity, barely any food. As she cooks on an open flame, the smoke fills their little home. On this day, there was no food, no money to buy beans or rice. Only the newborn was fed. This is a strong woman keeping her family together in a difficult environment.” Image by Francesca Ciglar, National Geographic Your Shot. 

“This is a young mother with five children, the youngest a few days old. They live on a mountainside in a tiny shack crafted from whatever materials they find to create walls and a see-through roof. There is no running water, no electricity, barely any food. As she cooks on an open flame, the smoke fills their little home. On this day, there was no food, no money to buy beans or rice. Only the newborn was fed. This is a strong woman keeping her family together in a difficult environment.” Image by Francesca Ciglar, National Geographic Your Shot. 

Allison, a mother of eight, breastfeeds her youngest daughter Sarah. Past a gate marked ‘Private Property — Keep Out,’ her family shares a two-room cabin on a commune in the redwood forest with no plumbing, indoor bathroom, heat or central air. Allison, who battles to keep her children homeschooled, fed, and integrated with the outside world, takes the brunt of the physical work. Image by Rachel Bujalski, National Geographic Your Shot.

Allison, a mother of eight, breastfeeds her youngest daughter Sarah. Past a gate marked ‘Private Property — Keep Out,’ her family shares a two-room cabin on a commune in the redwood forest with no plumbing, indoor bathroom, heat or central air. Allison, who battles to keep her children homeschooled, fed, and integrated with the outside world, takes the brunt of the physical work. Image by Rachel Bujalski, National Geographic Your Shot.

This picture was taken at a brick kiln where the women were transferring bricks from the kiln to the truck. They were carrying almost 10-12 bricks, all together on their head. The working conditions is quite tough; the dust makes breathing even difficult. I tried to showcase that like the men, the women can also do the work where physical strength is required. Image by Tejal Mewar, National Geographic Your Shot.

This picture was taken at a brick kiln where the women were transferring bricks from the kiln to the truck. They were carrying almost 10-12 bricks, all together on their head. The working conditions is quite tough; the dust makes breathing even difficult. I tried to showcase that like the men, the women can also do the work where physical strength is required. Image by Tejal Mewar, National Geographic Your Shot.

Dondi is a ritual of Hindus, performed on the day of Shitala Puja, a Hindu Goddess who is worshipped to protect people against many Hindrance and diseases. On an auspicious hot summer day, scores of Hindus — after taking a dip in the river Ganga at Kalighat, a renowned holy place in Kolkata — perform this ritual. Image by Somnath Chakraborty, National Geographic Your Shot. India, 2017.

Dondi is a ritual of Hindus, performed on the day of Shitala Puja, a Hindu Goddess who is worshipped to protect people against many Hindrance and diseases. On an auspicious hot summer day, scores of Hindus — after taking a dip in the river Ganga at Kalighat, a renowned holy place in Kolkata — perform this ritual. Image by Somnath Chakraborty, National Geographic Your Shot. India, 2017. 

Follow Your Shot (@natgeoyourshot) on Instagram to see more photos in the series.