Newsha Tavakolian Barkhodan Kochar, 16, from Darbasi. 2015. "I joined YPJ in 2014, because I wanted to defend my homeland. The war influenced me a lot. Before joining YPJ, whenever I asked my family about politics, (...)
they'd say 'that's not your business, you're just a girl'. But when I saw how the women of YPJ gave their lives for what they believed in, I knew that I wanted to be one of them. I feel much more empowered as a woman now. As a 16-year-old girl, I think that I have a very important role in my country and I will keep on fighting until the last drop of my blood is shed." © Newsha Tavakolian | Magnum Photos
Newsha Tavakolian Hajji Zainami, 60, from Bama, with his 4 wives, 17 children and 42 grandchildren fled during a violent attack on their town. Hajji explained that they walked barefoot for 5 days, during which one o (...)
f his grandchildren died due to the extreme heat, and a lack of food. When they arrived in Maiduguri, a kind citizen lent them a house, where they now live together. Nigeria. 2017. © Newsha Tavakolian | Magnum Photos
Newsha Tavakolian Adnan Hossain, 35, in a repair shop in Chel Agha, adorned with a portrait of Arin Mirkan, member of YPJ, who blew herself up at an ISIS position near Kobane in October 2014. Adnan fled to Chel Agha (...)
seven months ago with his family, when ISIS surrounded all the villages around his native town of Jezza. Adnan says that for him Arin is the symbol of a real woman, because she gave her life for her country. Chel Agha, Rojava, Syria. 2015. © Newsha Tavakolian | Magnum Photos
Newsha Tavakolian Barkhodan Kochar, 16, from Darbasi. 2015. "I joined YPJ in 2014, because I wanted to defend my homeland. The war influenced me a lot. Before joining YPJ, whenever I asked my family about politics, (...)
they'd say 'that's not your business, you're just a girl'. But when I saw how the women of YPJ gave their lives for what they believed in, I knew that I wanted to be one of them. I feel much more empowered as a woman now. As a 16-year-old girl, I think that I have a very important role in my country and I will keep on fighting until the last drop of my blood is shed." © Newsha Tavakolian | Magnum Photos
Newsha Tavakolian Reza Manafzadeh works on a fruit-tree farm at the edge of the salt lake, where crops are irrigated by a new method—recycled factory water brought by tanker truck. “I’m so worried about my son’s fut (...)
ure,” he says. “If there will be no water in Iran, our children will lose interest in their country.” Iran. 2016. © Newsha Tavakolian | Magnum Photos