Khatoon by Giovanni de Mojana

In the 2024 Global Gender Gap Index, Pakistan was ranked 145 out of 146. However, since the first Aurat March (International Women’s Day) was celebrated in 2018, women in Pakistan have been reshaping a country that was born less than a century ago and is situated in one of the world’s most unstable regions. Khatoon (Urdu for ‘woman’), captures the extraordinary stories of ordinary women through portraits, landscapes and audio interviews. From boxers to NGO CEOs, singers, dancers and motorcyclists, these women – whether they are from rural Punjab, the peaks of Karakoram, or the cities of Karachi, Islamabad and Lahore – each represent a piece of the struggle for a new generation’s rights. This work by Giovanni De Mojana, created in collaboration with Benedetta Gavazzi, 'aims to present a different narrative of a misunderstood region, challenging the Western collective imagination.'