2nd Place; Afghanistan’s Girl Athletes by Ebrahim Noroozi

A number of women and girls who used to play sports pose for portraits with the equipment of the sports they loved. They hid their identities with their burqas, the robes and hood that cover the face, leaving only a mesh to see through. They don’t normally wear the burqa, but said they sometimes choose to when they go outside and want to remain anonymous and avoid harassment.

The ban on sports is just one way the Taliban has shut down life for girls and women since their takeover in August 2021. It has also barred girls from attending middle and high school; ordered all women to be thrown out of universities; severely limited women’s ability to work outside the home; and, in November 2022, the Taliban’s Ministry of Virtue prohibited women and girls from going to parks or gyms.