Finalist
Paula Bronstein
Freelance for Getty Images
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
"Between Life and War: The Struggles of Afghan Women"
HERAT, AFGHANISTAN - NOVEMBER 14: Afghan men carry the body of Guljan,18, into her grave on November 14, 2006 in Herat, Afghanistan. She died from self-immolation November 13 at the Herat Regional hospital Burn unit with burns over 65% of her body in Herat, Afghanistan. Bibijan lost her 15-year-old daughter last year to self-burning also and has 8 children left. The medical staff at the Herat hospital says that they have registered around 700 self-immolations cases so far this year. Hospital officials say they lack proper salaries for the nurses and doctors and suffer from a lack of medical supplies. A new burn center for the crowded hospital that was suppose to be finished in 2005 is still under construction. Afghan women are in a subordinate position in the society, where conservative Islamic laws and traditions dictate what a woman is allowed to do in a male dominated world. Forced marriages, domestic violence, poverty and lack of access to education are said to be some of the main reasons for the suicides. (Photo by Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)
|
