Snakes hang from a wooden cabinet marked with the Chinese characters “poisonous snake”, at a snake soup shop ahead of the Spring Festival in Hong Kong January 29, 2013. (Photo by Bobby Yip/Reuters)

Kenza Drider, 32, announces her candidacy for France's 2012 Presidential election on September 22, 2011 in Meaux, France. Drider is the first French Muslim woman to wear a niqab and run for President despite France's nationwide ban on the face veil, which today saw 32-year-old mother of three Hind Ahmas and Najate Nait Ali both being fined after being caught wearing the niqab in public in the Parsisan district of Meaux back in May when the law first came into force. (Photo by Franck Prevel/Getty Images)

A woman looks at photographs of dogs to choose a pet to rent at Puppy The World on January 24, 2009 in Tokyo, Japan. Rent-a-dog is becoming increasingly popular amongst people who love dogs but are unable to look after a pet full time due to limited living space or long working hours. Customers pay the dog-rental outlet around 2500 yen (32.5 USD) for an hour, and usually take their rented pet for a walk along the nearby beach. (Photo by Junko Kimura/Getty Images)

Fukusawa Takayuki is a Japanese designer, whose life’s goal is to brighten up the people's mood through his creations. His latest project sure does the job. In this project he created a number of figurine-pendants called the “Tanima Diver”. When worn by a woman with full breasts, it looks like the figurine is making a dive into her cleavage. Though only the most outgoing of girls will allow herself to wear such a necklace, it will surely bring a wide smile to the face of any man. (Photo by Takayuki Fukusawa)

Italian pencil artist Marco Mazzoni‘s work goes far beyond technical perfection. His representation of historical healing women is enigmatic and sublime. Often leaving the eyes blank or covered with an abundance of birds, butterflies and flowers, he gives the impression of a deeper inward focused sight, as well as obscuring the identity of the individual. Many female healers in the past – both medicine woman and midwives – were brutally persecuted by religion, some even burnt as witches… Mazzoni’s work captures their deep connection with nature and their innate power and femininity with delicacy and beautiful detail.

Models wait backstage before the Heaven Gaia Autumn/Winter 2021 collection show by Xiong Ying during China Fashion Week in Beijing, China on March 25, 2021. (Photo by Tingshu Wang/Reuters)

Romanian female soldiers stand prior to the military parade on Romania's National Day in Bucharest, on December 1, 2022. (Photo by Daniel Mihailescu/AFP Photo)

Soma-Nomaoi is a festival that recreates a battle scene from more than 1,000 years ago. It is annually held for 4 days from July 22 to 25 in Haramachi City, Fukushima Prefecture, in the eastern part of Japan. In this historical event, 600 mounted samurai in traditional Japanese armor, with long swords at their side and ancestral flagstaffs streaming from their backs, ride across open fields. Soma-Nomaoi has been designated an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property.

Photo: A young woman (C) clad in samurai costume leads other local poeple as she rides her horse during a parade at the annual Soma Nomaoi festival in Minamisoma, Fukushima Prefecture, on July 28, 2012. The traditional full-scale festival kicked off for the first time after the accident of the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant following the massive earthquake and the tsunami on March 11, 2011. (Photo by Toru Yamanaka/AFP Photo)