These Incredible Photographs Shatter Stereotypes Of Women & Poverty

Local female photographers in Afghanistan, Uganda and South Africa will have their work exhibited at London’s South Bank for International Women’s Day next month.

International charity ActionAid has partnered with six photographers from around the world to tell the stories of women and girls living in poverty, as well as shatter stereotypes and gender norms.

Women by Women is a yearlong project that shines a spotlight on talented women working in challenging environments, who are often overlooked.

The project features stories from a street artist in Afghanistan and the founder of a women-only coffee collective in the Democratic Republic of Congo, as well as a South African activist and a nurse in Uganda.

Esther Mbabazi, an award-winning documentary photographer from Kampala, Uganda, has captured images of women from around the capital, many of whom have their own stories of domestic violence.

She said: "It feels good to be among the few of the female photographers available in Kampala…it gives us an opportunity to feel part of our own stories and tell the stories of our own people. Many wouldn’t fly me from Uganda to go and tell a story in the UK, but they would fly a photographer from the UK to go and tell a story in Uganda, but now it’s starting to change. It’s really exciting for me – I can be part of the stories of how my country and community is being presented out there in the media."

The campaign also features work from Farzana Wahidy, the first professional female Afghan photojournalist to work with major international press agencies including the Associated Press, as well as street photographer Tahmina Saleem, who has documented the achievements and challenges of women in Afghan society.

"If men see you with a camera, they are shocked; they think 'how can a woman be doing photography?'" says Tahmina. "It’s difficult but we do it for ourselves and we do not give up."

Other photographers include Morena Perez Joachin from Guatemala, award-winning Miora Rajaonary from South Africa and Pamela Tulizo from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The campaign, which was announced last year, aims to address the gender gap in photography. The project has been shot by local photographers in an attempt to "move away from the traditional photography associated with NGOs."