Girl Waiting

• Prize
  Silver in Editorial/Conflict
• Photographer
  Phillip Walter Wellman
• Technical Info
  Nikon D7500
• Photo Date
  27 October 2018

A girl in Kandahar, Afghanistan, stands next to a queue of women waiting to vote in the war-torn country's 2018 parliamentary elections. Many of the women said they were voting for someone who would improve education for their children, including their female children. Images of female voters reflect the progress Afghan women have made since the fall of the Taliban in 2001. However, recent talks of a peace deal with the ultra-conservative group, which once banned girls from school, have led to fears that the next generation of Afghan women may not enjoy the same rights as their mothers.

Phillip Walter Wellman is an American journalist currently living and working in Afghanistan.