Akre, Kurdistan Region in Iraq.

Hashim Hussaini, a writer and historian inside Al-Shabandar cafe in Baghdad, Iraq. Since the cafe opened over a century ago, the establishment has become a home for Baghdad’s intellectual life, drawing poets, artists and politicians to its wooden benches and photo-lined walls.

Dusk at a local pilgrim's route through Al Hillah. 

A man weeps inside a Masjid in the city of Leh in Ladakh.

A rural pilgrim route in Al Hillah, Iraq at dusk. Pilgrims continue to walk late into the night, some walking from as far as Basra to reach Karbala. [2017]

Gulstan, a Kurdish-Syrian refugee in Gawilan refugee camp, Kurdistan Region in Iraq.

Varanasi, India

Pilgrims watch volunteers dressed as Yazid horsemen recreate the 7th Century Battle of Karbala in which the Yazid army set fire to the tents of Imam Hussain’s family and companions. This form of mourning, where the Battle of Karbala is enacted is known as taziya.

Yazidi sisters from Sinjar

Khushboo is from the Musuhar caste, one of the most marginalised communities in India. The threat of child marriage and trafficking is critically high amongst these communities. Female empowerment organisations like Nari Gunjun provide support, safe houses and education for young girls. Khushboo now lives at Nari Gunjun's boarding school in Bihar and has won nationally in karate.

Akre, Kurdistan Region in Iraq.  On assignment with The Abraham Path Initiative. 

Women queue at the entrance to Zeynab's Hill in Karbala, Iraq. 

Finn, my nephew, at home.

Al Hillah, Iraq

My grandmother, Caroline, under the shade of a willow tree.

My mother, Camilla

Lake Malawi, Malawi

An Asian elephant stands visibly traumatised, chained to a temple pillar following a six-hour procession. It was paraded through the streets of Varanasi, noisy with crowds and rocketing fireworks, in the build up to Diwali, the festival of lights. The elephant was swaying and its bloodshot eyes swirled, as its owner looked on anxiously. There are an estimated 3,600 domesticated Asian elephants in India, belonging either to the government, wealthy families or temples and used in festivals throughout the year. They are an endangered species, their wild counterparts under threat from habitat loss and conflict with humans in agricultural areas.

Horseman reenacting the battle against the Yazid army on the road to Karbala.

Juvenile orangutans hold on to Emmy, a keeper at SOCP's orangutan quarantine centre in North Sumatra, Indonesia. Well over 200 orangutans have been returned to the wild as a result of this work, and two entirely new wild populations of this Critically Endangered species are gradually being established, as a back up “safety net” for the remaining wild population, increasing the likelihood that at least some orangutans will survive in Sumatra’s forests in the future.

An Iranian nurse prepares a mammogram machine in Qom, Iran.

Sun bear in Medan, Sumatra. Sun bears are the world’s rarest bears, yet are commonly exploited for their gall bladders and bile. In traditional Chinese medicine the bile is thought to treat a range of ailments, from hangovers to hepatitis. Cubs are farmed, sometimes living permanently with a catheter used to drain the bile.

Mawat, As Sulaymaniyah in Kurdistan Region in Iraq.

Children play in the Euphrates near Kefal during the Arbaeen pilgrimage in Iraq.

Eye hospital in Qom, Iran

Calcutta, India

An Orthodox priest sits inside Archangels’ church, built in the 13th Century, at Bachkovo Monastery in Bulgaria. It is one of the oldest and largest monasteries in Europe. On assignment with SUITCASE Magazine.

Ghazale receiving an eye test at a hospital in Qom, Iran.

Al Qosh, Kurdistan Region in Iraq. On assignment with Article 36.

Mohammed [20] and Alan [14], refugees from Qamishli city in Syria, at Bardarash refugee camp in Kurdistan Region in Iraq.

Imam Hassan Qazwini prays in his home before iftar, the evening meal that breaks the fast during the holy month of Ramadan.

Shepherd in Al Qosh, Kurdistan Region in Iraq.