Being a photographer involves being around a lot of men simply because they tend to control societies. I just finished a story in northern Tanzania, where the only people who needed to be interviewed and photographed were women. Even though our fixer and translator was a woman — a fully intentional decision — we still ended up following men who could lead us to our subjects, because they were always the ones in charge. If I want to embed with military forces, I need to talk to men; to get permission from the head of a hospital, I have to meet with a man, the police chief, or the head of the village. In some cultures, even a majority of the people on the streets are men. It is difficult for me to do my work because many of the authority figures that I come into contact with are men; and not just men, but men who have always been in charge of others and whose role is about making decisions for others. Of course, in terms of accessing women and quiet moments in the home or in the maternity wards of hospitals, perhaps it’s easier for other women to relax if there is a female photographer present. But the issue is this:

Often, you’ll have to have gone through a chain of five men in order to be left alone in a room with a female subject.

This is just one of the challenges of being a woman, and it rarely surprises me because the societies and cultures in which I work are strongly male dominated. We live in a world where men can purchase women to be their wives and their property, are allowed to make choices for women about their healthcare, or rape women and girls without consequence. I am not surprised when I am talked down to, ignored, interrupted, or even have to fight off physical advances.

I am, however, disheartened when men from my own culture, or from societies similar to my own with the same educational backgrounds, cannot help but to treat women as less than them. Harassment happens in my everyday life, but for me it is more frustrating when it happens while I am working—when I have a job to do and I am hired by one of the largest publications in the world to take photographs and you are touching me inappropriately or advising me on how to do my job. The problem is that it doesn’t just happen sometimes, it happens all the time, and it continues to happen, which is why we continue to voice our concerns.

One of our jobs as journalists is to explore belief systems, identities, and cultures, and keep an open mind toward varying views on these issues. How can men in such a profession in which they pride themselves on being cross-cultural flies on the wall be so unaware of gender? Maybe as international journalists who jump in and out of countries and are exposed to the horrible treatment and experiences of women around the world, it’s easy to pretend that sexism is something that is not ingrained in our own culture.