2002, INDIA2007, TONGAAPHERS
EN AND
ERENTLY.
FAR LEFT
As co-president of
Afrekete—a campus
advocacy group—artist,
activist, and student
Janae’ Sumter encour-
aged Spelman College
in Atlanta to be
more supportive of
LGBTQ students.
RADCLIFFE “RUDDY” ROYETOP LEFT
Women share
a meal of flatbread,
meats, and fruit in
the Women’s Garden,
where they can social-
ize freely, outside of
Bamyan, Afghanistan.
LYNSEY ADDARIOTOP RIGHT
In India, a family of
debt laborers stack
and haul bricks to pay
off loans. Ballooned
by interest, these
debts can last
for generations.
JODI COBBBOTTOM LEFT
Irene Sonia poses in
front of a milaya, or
bedsheet—one of the
few things her mother
managed to bring
when they fled South
Sudan for Uganda.
NORA LOREKBOTTOM RIGHT
Fuatapu Halangahu
practices martial arts
with other members of
the Tonga Defense Ser-
vices. The Polynesian
island kingdom began
admitting women to
the forces in 1979.
AMY TOENSINGIN 1907 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC published a picture by Eliza Scidmore, believed
to be our first woman photographer and the first woman contributor to the
magazine. The photos that followed were almost always made by men. As that
shifted, our worldview evolved. In 2018 women photographed nearly three
times as many stories in National Geographic as they had a decade before.