Pictures of the Year International
Sponsored by

First: Secret Sports

A series of photographs that reflects a strong sense of identity or narrative. Respect for the dignity of the person is important.

Caption
Slide 1 of 11
September 22, 2022
Ebrahim Noroozi / Associated Press
Location

    Secret Sports

    Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban have banned women from sports as well as barring them from most schooling and many realms of work. A number of women posed for the photographer for portraits with the equipment of the sports they love. Though they do not necessarily wear the burqa in regular life, they chose to hide their identities with their burqas because they fear Taliban reprisals and because some of them continue to practice their sports in secret.

    72c746b1-5319-4216-9a90-e03ed5c10fb7
    bfa2baaf-5383-4bf1-8447-4c76c6d22651
    c873ea65-a870-4455-9afe-9d58533a7e0b
    e554d5b2-db51-496e-a55c-e242fd5fc98c
    c4bbe694-9f95-4bb0-8312-9e8977386d2b
    0f28fe2f-9b99-42ac-9f35-dd4af517a4da
    ee82a063-93bc-48e2-9faa-ff208f41ffeb
    3e78c9f9-444d-47a9-9814-02893d501e8f
    a547aa23-02c1-4200-b11e-dbe432dbf338
    d23ae3a5-2413-4abd-944c-080d52dedc53