Südafrika Boxende Omas – 77 year-old Gladys Ngwenya (L) winces as she chews on a piece of ginger before a “Boxing Gogos” (Grannies) session hosted by the A Team Gym in Cosmo City in Johannesburg on September 19, 2017.

South Africa is a country riddled with crime and corruption, negative press reports and many of the issues that tend to plague developing countries. But there is also another side to the coin, one that sheds light on the hope and courage of its people who get up each morning and attempt to make a difference on the lives of people who surround them. Former bodybuilder and fitness instructor Claude Maphosa pulls no punches when it comes to uplifting his community.

Her hair is tied up in a top knot. Thick kohl lines her eyes up to the temples. Her forehead is painted in red, with a silver agni chakchuu – the third eye, which is known as the fire eye – staring out from the center. She sits playfully on her mother’s lap while one by one people kneel down to offer her flowers, donations or simply to touch her feet. She appears shy to me, as if not used to receiving strangers. Despite the shyness, her eyes sparkle with curiosity.

Mediha felt like the “Islamic State” had stripped her of her identity

While the “Islamic State” (IS) has lost most of its cities in Iraq and Syria, thousands of Yazidis it kidnapped are still missing. Activists say some are being hidden within IS families. Judit Neurink reports from Irbil.

Does a sex joke constitute sexual assault? Or only if they grab your bottom? A survey shows that tolerance levels vary across Europe. EU countries deal differently with sexual harassment, and Germany often lags behind.

Waitresses pose inside the Playboy Club at the Sands Casino in Macau, December 18, 2010

Time to hang up that Bunny suit … and bring out your Superwoman costume. About eight years ago in South Africa, I started my own magazine. It was born out of the idea that mainstream publications did not represent the real beauty of the people who surrounded me. I had subscribed to Cosmopolitan magazine since I was 16 and had read the issues cover to cover. I scanned the percentage of advertising in each issue and deconstructed the content, themes and styles until I got bored by the predictability.

Iran, Tehran, 2013 Last check up before she is leaving home. Kimia is ready to go out. © Samaneh Koshravi

Iranians rank among the best customers of the cosmetic industry – despite the strict dress code, the obligation to wear a hijab and the lack of women’s rights. There are many stereotypes about the lives of Iranian women, complains Iranian photographer Samaneh Khosravi. One of them is the woman in a black chador. In her Among Women  and  Teenagers photo series, Khosravi shows how multifarious life in Iran is and how women have adapted their sense of fashion to the rules of the Islamic Republic.

DURGA, a photography project by Sharmistha Dutta (last picture in the gallery) that addresses the apathy and gender inequality that exists against women, especially widows in India. – See also: “The biggest case of social injustice till today is one that is faced by widows”