Twenty-four-year-old Maryam Aghayee makes hyper-realistic baby dolls acting as surrogates for some Iranian families who are apprehensive of having more children. “It has been about three or four months since I started this work”, says Maryam in Tehran, Iran on October 7, 2020. “After making my second doll, many orders have been coming in. The second doll was much more realistic than the previous one. After making my second doll, I said that from now on I can take customer orders. I did not intend to start a business from the beginning because it was a hobby, but after the second doll, the demand for these kinds of dolls increased, customers want to have such dolls”. (Photo by Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters)

“YagYang”. The Apatani are tribal people living in north east of India in the region of Arunachal Pradesh. Tattooing and stuffing of large nose plugs is the particularity of these women. YagYang 75 years old, her husband passed away few months ago and she feels very alone, during my visit I was very fond of this woman and I wanted to spend some more time with her, so I asked her which was her favorite dish. The next day i returned with the fresh fish, as she mentioned, and when she saw me she was very happy and welcomed me with a big smile. Photo location: India. (Photo and caption by Passarini Mattia/National Geographic Photo Contest)

A woman wearing a burqa begs on a street in Mazar-i-Sharif on December 22, 2021. (Photo by Mohd Rasfan/AFP Photo)