I haven’t posted in a while due to busy uni life but I thought I’d do something a bit different for this post because news is important, so are photos. With the world in political and environmental turmoil recently I have been thinking about what matters to me, namely in the news and in society. When I reflected on this I realised what I am passionate about is largely feminism.

So, here are the photos I find the most powerful of 2024 so far. I decided to put them in order of publication to track how things are evolving in 2024 so far.

• This image below was published on 23/01/2024 by the Guardian, taken by Fatima Shbair

I think this is a powerful image as it clearly depicts the day to day reality of people living in Gaza. It would feel wrong to think about the news of 2024 without choosing an image to depict the conflict. I think any image with children in immediately grounds people, and makes them empathise with people and their struggles. I think this one is especially compelling as at first glance you may not notice the child, which subtly shows the way children have been forgotten and gotten unwillingly caught up in this war. The multiple demands on this man are present all in one image, and as the image focuses on one person it emphasises individual lives are at stake rather than people becoming part of a statistic.

• This image below was published on 26/09/2024 by the Guardian, taken by Qudratullah Razwan

The restrictions being placed on women in Afghanistan is something I have been closely following in the news this year. The Taliban have dictated women must cover their entire bodies, including their faces in thick clothing and are prohibited from speaking in public and looking a man who they are not married or related to in the eye. I think this image illustrates not only these abhorrent restrictions upon women but also with the empty street with just two women it also portrays the isolation and condeming of women.

This image below is included in am article published on 10/10/2024 by the BBC eye investigations, as part of an article written by Amitabh Parashar

This image I find extremely powerful and it is a case I have watched the documentary and listened to the podcast for avidly. It depicts a midwife hugging a woman who was a baby she saved in the 1990’s. The article details the devastating cases of infanticide in a rural Indian district of Katihar and the pressure put on women to kill baby girls. This image is raw and full of emotion and depicts the harsh realities of class struggle within India and the misogyny that is rife in so many places in the world. The unification of the midwife and the now fully grown woman is heartwarming and incredibly powerful and this image is just so striking.

• This below image was published in an article on 08/11/24 and updated on 12/11/24, which depicts a scene from May 2024. It was published by the BBC in an article written by Kayla Epstein.

Following Trumps’s reelection, I feel women’s rights have definitely taken a backwards turn again. The image of Trump in a courthouse felt fitting to represent the newly elected president and his sexist, chauvinistic attitudes. Not only am I concerned for women in America, his continued support and reelection is also problematic for issues of discrimination in all forms and for issues of climate and I could not write on the most powerful images of 2024 without adding in an image of Trump.

• The below image is from a BBC article published on the 08/11/24 by Mallory Moench

The agony and anguish in this image is the first thing that instantly grabbed my attention. The women seem to be imploring for help and the number of people in such a small image highlights the lack of space and the poverty suffered by these citizens. Oftentimes, in a war or conflict the most powerful images are not of the fighting itself but of the everyday people it affects and this image is no different. It reminds people war does not stop at the door to the home but is a continual affront on people, which this image displays. The vivid colours in this image also grabbed my attention and the red instantly seemed reminiscent of the mass bloodshed. It is an image I keep coming back to as I think the harrowed look on the women’s faces is something hard to look away from.

So, there we have it, the 5 most powerful images I have seen so far in 2024. I hope you stop to look at them and think about what they represent.

Yours, justjaslettering xxx