Culture

Visceral, Dark, Hopeful: The World Through Women’s Eyes

This year's Women Photograph grant winners offer an honest, hopeful view of the world as it looks through a woman's lens.

Emma Haslett

Aug 14, 2025 — 5 min read

Photograph by Teala Elise Avery

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Last September, The Persistent interviewed the photographer Daniella Zalcman, a photojournalist who had become so tired of seeing women photographers passed over for assignments that she launched her own network for women photographers called, appropriately, Women Photograph.

Each year the organization awards grants to a tiny handful of photographers in its 1,400-strong network. The winning projects include a documentation of identity and history in Bermuda, an examination of the human and environmental aftermath of nuclear tests in India, and a series of portraits of students from underrepresented communities in Chicago.

The images are visceral, and at moments dark, but also offer hope—from a woman eyeing the camera as she floats on her back in a tranquil lagoon in Bermuda, to a group of teen boys playing a board game on the street.

'When Buddha Stopped Smiling'

The work of Chinky Shukla “documents the environmental aftermath of the 1974 and 1998 nuclear tests in Pokhran, a township in the northwestern state of Rajasthan in India.” The judges called the project “deeply empathetic and participatory,” adding that it gives voices to “villagers who never gave their consent to history.”

Three women stand in a line, their faces obscured by red scarves. — Photograph by Chinky Shukla

Laundry hangs on a line. There are a few animals around, but no people. The sun is on the horizon. — Photograph by Chinky Shukla

'Descendants of Summer'

This project by Nicola Muirhead is an ongoing documentary which explores “the complexities of identity, belonging and historical reckoning in Bermuda,” an island “whose present is inseparable from its colonial past.” The judges praised Muirhead for the “light and verdant colors that are typical of this region,” while avoiding “common binary narratives within post-colonial history.”

A woman in a red bikini top floats on the water, her eyes looking into the camera. — Photograph by Nicola Muirhead

A man sits in a chair with his eyes closed. A woman stands next to him, one hand on his arm. — Photograph by Nicola Muirhead

'Yellow Tiger on Blue Background'

In April 2024, Taiwan was hit by a magnitude 7.4 earthquake; a geological mirror of the political shocks directed its way from China. This project by Chloé Azzorpadi depicts young people “grappling with their dreams and the construction of their identities” during these geopolitical shifts. Judges said they were drawn to the “tender and poetic approach to exploring how a generation of Taiwanese youth—specifically adolescents on the verge of adulthood—understand their national identities even as they are still constructing their individual ones.”

Four kids have set up a games table in the street. They sit on stools one on each side of a square table. — Photograph by Chloé Azzorpadi

A shirtless person, head tipped backward, eyes closed is cast in sunlight. A fruit appears to be falling on their chest. — Photograph by Chloé Azzorpadi

Investigation of a Cultural 'Other'

The experiences of Teala Elise Avery in Japan strengthened her sensitivities and knowledge as a young Black queer woman, while she continued to pay homage to her roots. In a new project, she will explore the “cultural dynamics and emotional connections among expats in Japan,” informed by her own experiences living there. Judges said they were “especially excited to support a young Black photographer’s investigation of cultural “other”—in an industry where that same lens has historically been wielded by white, western journalists.”

A woman's vision is obscured by two hands held over her eyes. — Photograph by Teala Elise Avery

A hand with blue nail polish holds up what appears to be a blue-tinged magnifying glass. — Photograph by Teala Elise Avery

'Not Yours to Make'

This series of images by Elsie Haddad looks at the “physical and psychological transformation that women go through while trying to negotiate an abortion” in Lebanon, an area where abortion is punishable by up to three years in prison. Haddad has obscured her subjects’ identities through Polaroid instant emulsion lifts. “All over the world, women’s reproductive rights are being challenged, restricted, and stripped away,” said the judges, who added that the project creates a “powerful space of healing, bearing witness, and the reclamation of your personal story and body.”

A black and white photo of a woman at a window. Her face is fully obscured. — Photograph by Elsie Haddad

A woman sits in an outdoor seating area. Her face and hands are obscured. The photo is murky. — Photograph by Elsie Haddad

'Becoming Themselves'

Melissa Ann Pinney began this project in 2018, chronicling the lives of Chicago Public High School students. The final set of portraits “honor and commemorate teens who are marginalized and underrepresented…[seeing] students navigate through adolescence, a time characterized by challenge, possibility and transformation.” The judges said that the result was “especially meaningful for students in this age group, as they navigate the complex journey of self-discovery and identity formation.”