To Conquer Her Land

The border areas between India and Pakistan are like their own world. Since partition in 1947, the border has seen war, smuggling (people, arms, drugs), firing, jingoistic parades, killing, suicide bombing, fireworks, lonely tears and moments of glory.  Poulomi Basu documents India’s first ever batch of women soldiers that were deployed at the country’s first line of defence, the India-Pakistan border.

White Shadows

White Shadows is a photo-essay by The Travel Photographer, Tewfic El-Sawy on the widows of Vrindavan. It is here, in the sacred and holy city of Vrindavan, that a segment of impoverished Indian widows find refuge after the death of their husbands. Being destitute, these women are often cast out of their family homes by her children and in-laws, unable or unwilling to feed an extra mouth.  The widows earn a meager keep by chanting devotional chants on behalf of pious families, and congregate in various ashrams in the city.

A Year In Pakistan

This video gives a short recap of Wendy Marijnissen's past year in Pakistan. Included are some photographs on childbirth and maternal health, the aftermath of the floods and Hamida's camp pregnancy. More images and stories can be seen online at wendymarijnissen.com.

Sierre Leone: Where Every Pregnancy is a Gamble

In the video below, Ami Vitale and Lauren Malkani document the many post-war challenges that lay ahead for Sierra Leone including improving child and maternal health. in 2009, one in eight women died during pregnancy. Fatimata Konte, an expecting mother, fears giving birth after already losing five of her children. She hopes the new policy to bring free health care to all pregnant women will save her next child and make giving birth safe for all women.

A Lasting Impact

Ethiopia has one of the highest child marriage rates in the world. A Lasting Impact focuses on the personal experiences of those who have had their lives changed due to the influence of United Nations Foundation educational programs throughout Ethiopia that put girls through school and challenge traditional thinking on child marriage.

Maternal Mortality

Every minute, a pregnant woman dies around the world from complications during pregnancy, delivery or shortly afterward—from Sierra Leone, to Afghanistan, to Haiti. Of the more than half a million women who die during pregnancy or childbirth annually, 90 per cent occur in Africa and Asia. In Sierra Leone, the lifetime risk of a woman dying from complications of pregnancy and childbirth is one in eight. 

This is the story, by Lynsey Addario (VII Network), of Mamma Sessay, 18, who screamed in pain and fear "I am going to die" as she lay on the delivery table at the Magburaka Government Hospital in Sierra Leone. These words proved to be prophetic as Sessay had postpartum hemorrhaging and died after she delivered the second of twin babies.

The Congo's Children Of Rape

View Robin Hammond's compelling photo essay on the lost generation of babies growing up in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Take Care

Take Care offers a glimpse into the life of Virginia Gandee, a 22-year-old woman who lives in Staten Island, New York.

At first glance one is struck by Virgina's bold appearance; her bright red hair and the dozen tattoos that canvas her body. When she was 15, Gin left home to marry a 20-year-old she met online. Two years later, she was a teenage mother. Today, Gin is raising her daughter as a single mother and pursuing her dream to become a nurse.

Take Care is a story about family, choices and reconciliation.

No Woman Should Die Giving Birth: Maternal Mortality In Sierra Leone

This film illustrates the problem women face when giving birth in Sierra Leone. 1 in 8 women die giving birth in Sierra Leone as opposed to 1 in 4000 in developed countries. In a country where over 50% live on less then 1$ a day and a quarter live in extreme poverty, the poorer you are the more likely you are to die giving birth.

Prostitutes Of God

Former Independent journalist Sarah Harris has made a documentary about India's temple prostitutes (watch the trailer below).  Devadasi are young girls who are dedicated to a Hindu deity at a young age and support their families as sex workers.

Undesired

India is a diverse country, separated by class and ethnicity. But all women confront the cultural pressure to bear a son. This preference cuts through every social divide, from geography to economy. No woman is exempt.  This preference originates from the belief that men make money while women, because of their expensive dowry costs, are a financial burden. As a result, there is a near constant disregard for the lives of women and girls. From birth until old age, women face a constant threat of violence and too frequently, death.

In Afghanistan, Passing As A Boy

Under social pressure in Afghanistan to have a son, Mehran’s parents began dressing and treating her as a boy when she was five.  Read the rest of the story here.

Sierra Leone: Where Every Pregnancy Is A Gamble

A film by Lauren Malkani and Panos photographer Ami Vitale.

India's Girl Effect

In India, where the lifelines between water, fuel, and 1.1 billion people are stretched thin, a small loan to one person can have a big impact, especially if that person is a girl. A microloan allowed Rehanna Bibi to radically alter the lives of her family and community. Provided $780 and some courses in basic hygiene, Supta Halder has transformed the health and habits of her village, her extended relatives, even her cows. Meet some of the people who benefit from the "girl effect" in India, a photo essay by Michael Rubenstein.

Intended Consequences

In 1994, in the East African nation of Rwanda, one million ethnic Tutsi people were slaughtered, in a genocide committed by their Hutu countrymen. But the scars left by these murderous militiamen go well beyond the numbers of the dead: they live on, in the lives of the women they held captive, raped - and left pregnant.

Intended Consequences by MediaStorm tells the stories of some of these women, victims of the sexual violence used as a weapon of war against them. Some 20,000 children were born as a result. Photojournalist Jonathan Torgovnik photographed and interviewed 30 women and their families, and has produced a piece of incredible complexity: how does a woman care for her child when it's the son or daughter of the man who raped her?

Behind The Veil

An intimate journey into the lives of Kandahar's women by the Toronto Globe and Mail.

The Perils Of Pregnancy

It's a source of joy, fear, pain, love and much more, but for many women, the primal business of childbirth also comes at a very high price. While universally recognized as a milestone of womanhood, pregnancy and childbirth remain among the leading causes of death of women worldwide; every day, one woman per minute dies while giving birth or soon after. An additional 10 million to 15 million women suffer complications resulting from the act of giving life.

Watch the Story of Momma, one woman's tale of dying to give birth, here and read more of the story here.

Childbirth In Tanzania

African women have the world's highest death rates during pregnancy and birth.  Tanzania, poor but politically stable, suffers from every problem that leads to these maternal deaths.  But the country is also a case study in the ways that African nations are trying to improve the bleak statistics.  

Watch the slide show with images by Beatrice de Gea for the New York Times here.

Female Circumcision

In Bandung, Indonesia, the families of 248 girls were given money to have their daughter's circumcised in a mass circumcision celebration timed to honour the Prophet Mohammed's birthday. While religion was the main reason for circumcisions, it is believed by some locals that a girl who is not circumcised would have unclean genitals after she urinates which could lead to cervical cancer. It is also believed if one prays with unclean genitals their prayer won't be heard. The practitioners used scissors to cut the hood and tip of the clitoris. The World Health Organization has deemed the ritual unnecessary and condemns such practices.

Watch the rest of the story by Stephanie Sinclair here.

No Man's Land: The Women of Mexico

Immigration is dividing families and changing social structures in rural Mexico. As the men seek work in the United States, they leave behind the women, children and elderly. Women are doing the jobs of men and acting as both mother and father to sons and daughters. Due to riskier and more costly border crossings, the men stay in the North, some never to return home. Immigration is empowering women to step out of their traditional domestic role. Women are now in charge of the families and the finances, and in some cases, acting as sole breadwinners for the households. Machismo is giving way to a more matriarchal structure the women call “pura mujer,” or purely women. 

These are the stories of the women, produced by Dana Romanoff.