Luweero district, Uganda

Local church leaders in Uganda comfort 54-year-old Solome Sekimuli, thrown out of her home by her brothers-in-law after the death of her diabetic husband, Ben. In many regions of the world, widowhood makes women social pariahs.

Photo: National Geographic Magazine/Amy Toensing

Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh, India

Ranjana (left) and Lalita (right) at the entrance to a government-run ashram for widows in India. Some Hindus believe that if a woman is pure and faithful she will keep her husband from death, ostensibly blaming the wife if he dies.

Photo: National Geographic Magazine/Amy Toensing

Inner Mongolia, China

The main industries in and around the city of Holingol are coal, power and chemicals, which pollute nearby grassland and render it unfit for grazing. Authorities have replaced the livestock with sculptures.

Photo: Lu Guang

Tinfgam, High Atlas mountains, Morocco

The Berbers are the oldest inhabitants of north Africa. For thousands of years, they have been living on a vast expanse of land stretching from Morocco’s Atlantic coast to Siwa Oasis in Egypt. They have their own language and cultural traditions, but their identity is under threat. This is Touda, with her daughter, in the High Atlas mountains.

Photo: Agence VU/Ferhat Bouda

Johannesburg, South Africa

Students and police clash at the University of the Witwatersrand during a mass demonstration. Campuses in South Africa closed during protests over tuition fees, with violent confrontations erupting between students, police and private security guards.

Photo: AFP/Marco Longari

Nepal

Young women sing and dance for the audience in dhoris, where customers can also request sexual services. Behind the Himalayas and the spectacular landscape is the grim reality of life in Nepal, a country poisoned by human trafficking.

Photo: Stephen Dock