Photos: Women and nonbinary photographers capture 2022

A woman named Regina kisses her son Davi, who was born with microcephaly, a condition where the baby’s head is much smaller than expected. Davi was one of thousands of Brazilian children born with the disease during an outbreak of Zika virus a few years ago. The doctor told her that her son was going to die and that she should get used to it, Regina told photographer Maíra Erlich. “How does a doctor say that?” said Regina. “So I asked him, ‘Are you God?’ He told me Davi had a tiny head and I said, ‘It’s beautiful.’ That’s it.’ ”

Maira Erlich

Published 0421 GMT (1221 HKT) December 31, 2022

By Eliza Anyangwe and Laura Oliverio, CNN

Editor’s note:This story is part of as equals,CNN’s ongoing series on gender inequality. For series funding and more, see our Frequently asked Questions.

The work of CNN’s As Equals team is to shed light on the underreported stories of underrepresented storytellers and deepen our understanding of our shared world by focusing on how that world is shaped when you are a woman or are a non-binary person.

So while most eyes were rightfully on the war in Ukraine this year, we kept asking, “What else should we be looking at? Who tells stories, whether in text, video, or still images, that can add invaluable perspective to our reporting? ?”

This gallery, created in collaboration with CNN’s Digital Photo Team, is an attempt to answer that question and present an alternative view of 2022. Each photographer also told us the story behind the image, with the captions edited short and clear.

The first photo above was taken by Maíra Erlich, who lives in São Paulo and Recife, Brazil. It shows a woman, Regina, with her son Davi.

“When she was pregnant, Regina contracted the Zika virus, which resulted in Davi being born with microcephaly,” Erlich said. The rare birth defect results in an underdeveloped head and brain.

“Over 4,000 children were born with this disease in Brazil between 2015 and 2016 due to the outbreak of the Zika virus, which is transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito,” Erlich said. “Davi has one of the most severe cases. He is blind and has minimal brain mass. After birth, Regina was told by the doctor that her newborn son would not survive. …

“Family is an issue that surrounds my work a lot. Coming from northeastern Brazil, where the Zika virus outbreak was hit much harder compared to other regions, I remember we all lived in fear of getting infected. Bottles of insect repellent were readily available, even on restaurant tables, alongside olive oil, salt and pepper. If someone got pregnant during this time, it was more sad news than good news. No one is talking about it now that the epidemic is over, but thousands of mothers are still struggling to care for their children and to understand how this rare and little-known health condition is affecting them.

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