UN Women Photo Essay | A Day in the Life of Women

In pictures: A celebration of magnetic women, in the various roles they have come to take up across the world.

Women in Brakna, southwest Mauritania. (Photo Courtesy: UNICEF/Agron Dragaj)

Today, a stunning set of photographs compiled in the form of an essay caught Quint Lens’ eye. Collated by UN Women, and titled ‘A Day In The Life of Women’, these vivid pictures seek to break two stereotypes: one of the “traditional” roles women are expected to take up, and second, of countries that are making progress with regard to women’s empowerment.

While these photos show how far we have come in accomplishing Millennium Development Goal 3 (women’s empowerment) until 2015, the underlying subtext remains a narrative of how far we still have go to achieve complete equality of women and girls in society (Sustainable Development Goals for 2030).

Women parliamentarians of the Afghan Lower House in Afghanistan’s capital Kabul. Women’s participation in politics and government is fundamental to reflecting everybody’s needs and building sustainable democracies. The percentage of women in parliament globally has doubled in the last 20 years, but that is still a staggeringly low 22 percent today. (Photo Courtesy: UN Photo/Eric Kanalstein)

For instance, while the representation of women in parliaments have doubled over the last two decades, that number is still a very low at 22 percent. Women make up 41 percent of paid labour in the world today, and yet unequal division of unpaid, domestic work still remains an issue taken for granted.

In Brazil’s northeast state Pernambuco, an all-female dance troupe performs an Afro-Indigenous dance, traditionally done by men during the nation’s popular annual festival Carnival. Whether in the arts, media or entertainment, women use art to change public discourse and shape perceptions on equality. (Photo Courtesy: UN Women/Lianne Milton)

In China, an instructor engages her students while raising awareness on HIV and AIDS to an important demographic – youth. Such education is critical to curbing infection rates. Globally, almost 1,000 young women are newly infected with HIV every day. Yet, only 21 percent of female adolescents aged 15-19 have comprehensive knowledge of HIV. (Photo Courtesy: UNAIDS)

In the southwestern Colombian port city of Tumaco, women run a street-side restaurant specialising in fried fish. Women continue to earn less, have fewer assets, and are largely concentrated in vulnerable and low-paying activities. Seventy-five percent of women’s employment in developing regions is informal and unprotected. (Photo Courtesy: UN Women/Ryan Brown)

At a dental clinic at the Ramstein Air Base in south-western Germany, Headquarters of US Air Forces in Europe, a dentist examines her patient. In Central and Eastern Europe, women comprise 40 per cent of researchers in science, including medical and health sciences — 10 percentage points higher than the world average. (Photo Courtesy: Ryan Langhorst)

In the northern Indian state of Rajasthan, a mother shares the joy of learning as she helps her son with his homework. A child born to a mother who can read is 50 percent more likely to survive. Every year of education beyond grade four that a woman receives, reduces risks of her child dying by 10 percent. (Photo Courtesy: UN Women/Shaista Chishty)

In Lebanon’s capital Beirut, a young entrepreneur crafts artisanal goods through carpentry in a shared studio space provided through a cooperative. Cooperatives serve an important role in women’s economic development, improving access to resources and women’s opportunities and strengthening economies. (Photo Courtesy: UN Women/Joe Saade)

A girl practices basketball at sunset in one of Africa’s oldest trading centers, Gao, Mali. During the Jihadist occupation in 2012, girls were forbidden to practice sports and to wear shorts. Women competed for the first time only at the 1900 Olympic Games in Paris, with women from all nations participating just a few years back in 2012. (Photo: UN Photo/Marco Dormino)

In the capital of Brakna in southwest Mauritania mothers gather to attend a session on early childhood development. Providing children with a strong foundation of learning and good health is key to sustainable development and economic growth. Poverty however can hamper such progress, and girl children often bear the brunt becoming an afterthought in a poor family. (Photo: UNICEF/Agron Dragaj)

Women make their way through the early-morning rush hour in the USA’s most populous city New York. Women, on average, are paid 24 percent less than men globally for the same work. They also spend more than twice as much time on unpaid care and domestic work as men. (Photo Courtesy: UN Women/Ryan Brown)

An all-female de-mining team in action in South Sudan deals with the legacy of landmines from Sudan’s civil war. Women de-miners are not uncommon and have worked on the numerous minefield from Bosnia to Iraq, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan and other countries. The job involves strapping on 25 kilos of equipment and searching for deadly explosives. (Photo Courtesy: UNMAS/Elena Rice)

In Davos, Switzerland, leaders including Christine Lagarde, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, and Sheryl Sandberg, discuss global growth at the World Economic Forum, the world’s premier political and business leaders meeting. If women play an identical role in labour markets to that of men, as much as US $28 trillion could be added to global annual GDP by 2025. (Photo Courtesy: WEF/Remy Steinegger)

Thai police cadets enjoy a light moment as they attend a training on ending violence against women and girls, geared towards enabling more effective response to such crimes. Data from 40 countries shows a positive correlation between the proportion of female police and reporting rates of sexual assault. (Photo Courtesy: UN Women/Montira Narkvichien)

In Turkmenistan, statisticians enter data for processing and analysis. Information communications technologies has great potential to empower women and girls worldwide. Social media, in particular, is a space where women’s voices and gender equality issues have been often brought to the forefront. (Photo Courtesy: The World Bank)

In a northern Viet Nam province, a farmer and her daughter walk through a field carrying a heavy load of dried corn crop leaves. Climate change is bringing new hardships with women and children bearing the negative impacts of fuel and water collection and transport. Women in many developing countries spend from one to four hours a day collecting biomass for fuel. (Photo Courtesy: UNDP/Canh Tang)

Also Read:
Just Me and Allah: A Photo Project on Queer Muslims
Photo Essay | Durga Kami, Nepal’s 68-Year-Old Student

(All photos have been taken from UN Women’s photo essay: A Day In The Life Of Women.)

Quint Lens is a selection of the most vivid imagery created by our in-house pool of talent, and from across the web, created and curated with an eye on for that Quintessential twist. In this section, you can find some of the most refreshing camera and mobile photography documenting current news events, the history and everyday culture of India and the world, heartbreaking stories that can only be conveyed through pictures, celebrations and revolutions; basically, anything that simply needs to be CliQed!