Egyptian photographer Iman Ahmed challenges gender discrimination

“I forget all the problems when I capture the smiles of newborn babies,” Egyptian photographer Iman Ahmed, who loves her profession despite gender discrimination and financial difficulties faced by her.

ASMAA FATHI

Cairo - Women cannot display their skills and talents because they are subjected to gender discrimination and inequality in every sphere of life. Iman Ahmed, a female photographer living in Cairo, continues to take photographs despite all the obstacles. NuJINHA spoke to her about her photography journey.

“Photography has become a passion for me”

Speaking about when she first took a photograph, Iman Ahmed said, “My father had a photography camera and I loved it. I was interested in photography when I first took a photograph by using his camera. I never thought photography would be my profession.  I studied media at university and worked as a journalist for a while. Then, I understood that photography has become a passion for me. For this reason, I improved myself in photography to make a difference and gained more experiences from my colleagues.”

“Women photographers face discrimination”

Emphasizing that women photographers face discrimination in this sector, Iman Ahmed talked about the obstacles faced by female photographers:

“One of the obstacles faced by us is the high prices of photography equipment. Another obstacle is that women photographers are seen as less skilled than male photographers. But this is not true; women photographers can see the realities of life more than male photographers. Unfortunately, women photographers face discrimination in this sector.”

“I take photos of newborn babies”

Iman Ahmed has recently taken photos of newborn babies. “When I started to take photos professionally, I used to take photos of my friends' children. My friends told me the photos of their children were very good. And I decided to take photos of newborn babies. I share all the photographs on my Facebook page.”

Although Iman Ahmed faces difficulties in finding photography equipment, she said, “I forget all the problems when I capture the smiles of newborn babies.”