Wednesday May 13, 2009, Kabul, Afghanistan

Kate Brooks Portfolio

The Afghan tradition of wearing a burqa dates back more than a century. The right not to fully cover is decided by the men in a woman's family. Women who live in conservative areas or who are from conservative families generally do not have the right to choose.

Credit: Kate Brooks / Polaris

Sunday December 9, 2001, Nangahar Province, Afghanistan

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Pakistani nationals were apprehended in Afghanistan after entering the country to fight a jihad against the American troops. They were later released on a Ramadan amnesty.

Credit: Kate Brooks / Polaris

Sunday September 18, 2005, Jalalabad, Nangahar, Afghanistan

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September 18, 2005, Jalalabad, Nangahar, Afghanistan: Men and women across Afghanistan voted in the country's first parliamentary elections. Illiteracy and the number of candidates created difficulty for many voters when making their choices. At the Char-Bgh Hich School in the village of Moi-Mubark more woman turned out to vote than were expected. Many women waited hours in a crowded hallway to vote. In an effort to speed up the process, women climbed out of the windows after voting.

Credit: Kate Brooks / Polaris

Sunday September 4, 2005

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An Afghan adaptation of William Shakespeare's play, Love's Labour's Lost, was performed at The Foundation for Culture and Civil Society in Kabul from August 31-September 4, 2005. Both expatriates and local Afghans attended the performance, which was the first time since 1979 that Shakespeare was preformed in Afghanistan.

Credit: Kate Brooks / Polaris

Friday September 23, 2005, Kandahar, Afghanistan

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82 Airborne, 1 brigade, 2 battalion, Delta Company were hit by an i.e.d just west of Kandahar on highway 1 shortly after leaving their base. All four men in the vehicle escaped from the burning vehicle. Following the explosion a firefight ensued.

Credit: Kate Brooks / Polaris

Saturday August 15, 2009, Taloqan, Afghanistan

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Former Foreign Minister Dr Abdullah Abdullah was Karzai's most powerful rival in the 2009 Afghan Presidential elections. Dr Abdullah's supporters gather to hear him speak.

Credit: Kate Brooks / Polaris

Sunday June 4, 2006, Kandahar, Afghanistan

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June 4, 2006, Kandahar, Afghanistan: A suicide car bomb exploded near a convoy carrying the governor of Afghanistan's southern Kandahar province killing three civilians and injuring a dozen. Alauddin, 15, is treated for burns on his back and an injury to his hand.

Credit: Kate Brooks / Polaris

Tuesday July 29, 2003, Baghdad, Iraq

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After a US checkpoint shooting in which five civilians were killed, the corner shopkeeper slaughtered a sheep and marked his generator with his bloody handprints thanking God for his protection.

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Saturday March 29, 2003, Kurdistan, Iraq

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A Kurdish Peshmerga soldier takes to the Zagros mountains to fight an Al Qaeda splinter group, Ansar al Islam, along side US Special Forces.

Credit: Kate Brooks / Polaris

Saturday March 29, 2003, Kurdistan, Iraq

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Peshmerga soldiers stand over a body of a member of Ansar al Islam killed by US Special Forces near the Iraq-Iran border.

Credit: Kate Brooks / Polaris

Thursday July 26, 2007, Najaf, Iraq

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Nearly 135 people were killed in a car bombing at the Imam Ali Shrine, one of the holiest sites for Shia Muslims. The attack targeted a prominent Shia cleric and occurred as the faithful were leaving after Friday prayers.

Credit: Kate Brooks / Polaris

Tuesday May 8, 2007, Amman, Jordan

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Layla Salman and her remaining family members fled Iraq after two of her daughters, who had been working with the American military in Baghdad, were gunned down. Picture of the two deceased daughters hang over the mattresses they sleep on next to their personal possessions. The family was eventually granted asylum status in the US.

Credit: Kate Brooks / Polaris

Sunday October 8, 2006, Beirut, Lebanon

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A child walks through the wreckage left behind after the Israeli air strikes which destroyed thousands of apartments and drove ten of thousands of civilians from their homes in the southern suburbs of Beirut. The Israeli's used satellite-guided bombs called bunker busters to penetrate up to 22 feet of concrete in an attempt to assassinate Hassan Nasurallah, the leader of Hezbollah. The United States supported these efforts by expediting the shipment of approximately 100 bunker buster bombs to Israel during its recent war on Lebanon. Most bunker buster bombs utilize ultra-dense depleted uranium to achieve the greatest momentum.

Credit: Kate Brooks / Polaris

Monday August 7, 2006, Beirut, Lebanon

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Lebanese military gather at the site of an Israeli air strike in a densely populated neighbourhood. Forty-one people were killed. Throughout the 34-Day War the military was instructed not to fight.

Credit: Kate Brooks / Polaris

Wednesday July 25, 2007

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After being trapped under heavy bombardment in Beirut's southern suburbs, Kawther and her family abandoned their home to seek refuge in a government school. Nearly 1 million people were displaced during the 34-day war between Israel and Hezbollah.

Credit: Kate Brooks / Polaris

Monday May 21, 2007, Lebanon

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After fighting broke out between extremist group Fatah al Islam and the Lebanese army in May 2007, the Lebanese military carried out an offensive that lasted for nearly 4 months. A man watches the Lebanese army shell Naher al Bared camp from his rooftop. The majority of the 30,000 Palestinian refugees who live in the Palestinian refugee camp were forced to flee to another refugee camp called Baddawi.

Credit: Kate Brooks / Polaris

Saturday January 24, 2009, Gaza, Occupied Palestinian Territories

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Thirteen Israelis(3 civilians and 10 military personnel) and an estimated 1300 Palestinians were killed, during Operation Cast Lead. A woman who lives in Rafah on the border with Egypt tries to clean what remains of her home.

Credit: Kate Brooks / Polaris

Saturday February 2, 2008

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Khalid Akram Al Kolak cries as watches his daughter, Aya, suffering through the doors of the intensive care unit. It took 4 days to get clearance from the IDF for her to travel from Gaza to the Soroka Hospital in Israel for urgent medical care. The toddler's parents were not allowed to accompany her. She was transferred from an ambulance into Israeli custody at the Erez crossing.

Credit: Kate Brooks / Polaris

Sunday January 25, 2009, Gaza, Occupied Palestinian Territories

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Fawzi Atiya al Samooni's house was destroyed during the Isreali military offensive Operation Cast Lead. Both his father and little brother were killed and his mother was seriously wounded. Locals say the Israeli military rounded up villagers into one house before firing on it. 26 people are said to have been simultaneously killed. Fawzi, 15, sits outside his aunt's house down the street that was also destroyed.

Credit: Kate Brooks / Polaris

Friday December 11, 2009, Swabi, Pakistan

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Two and an half million Pakistanis were displaced due to Taliban activity and Pakistan's military offensive in Swat.

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Tuesday June 2, 2009, Chota Lahore, Pakistan

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Displaced Pakistani children line up for dinner rations at Yar Hussain refugee camp.

Credit: Kate Brooks / Polaris

Sunday May 31, 2009, NWFP, Pakistan

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Two million Pakistanis were displaced in the spring of 2009 due to Taliban activity and Pakistan's military offensive against them. The majority of displaced people are living outside of officially recognized camps. At a makeshift camp on Malakand Road outside of Mardan two children sleep under a mosquito net.

Credit: Kate Brooks / Polaris

Wednesday May 27, 2009, Chota Lahore, Pakistan

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Two and an half million Pakistanis were displaced due to Taliban activity and the Pakistan's military offensive against them. A woman from Buner cooks outside of her tent at the Yar Hussain refugee camp.

Credit: Kate Brooks / Polaris

Monday October 5, 2009, Kanju Township, Swat Valley, Pakistan

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Backed by the government, the elite of the Swat Valley formed militias against the Taliban. Government officials and army officers who back the militias Ð known here as "lashkars," or Ôarmies' in Urdu Ð say they will ensure a measure of stability as an uncertain peace settles over the one-time militant stronghold in the wake of a massive army offensive.

Credit: Kate Brooks / Polaris

Thursday May 14, 2009, Shamali Plains, Afghanistan

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A Afghan man tires to hitch a lift on the road between Bagram and Kabul.

Credit: Kate Brooks / Polaris

Sunday October 29, 2006

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At the C-Lounge Halloween party women dance on the bar competing for the title of sexiest woman. In Lebanon the male to female ratio is 1:4.

Credit: Kate Brooks / Polaris

Friday May 20, 2005, Damascus, Syria

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The Al- Masari newly wed couple celebrate their union at a 5 star hotel in the capital.

Credit: Kate Brooks / Polaris

Sunday November 15, 2009, Karachi, Pakistan

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Fashion Pakistan Week showcased 32 designers over 4 days from November 4 to 7 at the Marriott hotel. The event was postponed twice and switched venues due to security concerns. Pakistani models prepare backstage before the Nomi Ansari show.

Credit: Kate Brooks / Polaris

Thursday May 14, 2009, Cairo, Egypt

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A young Egyptian couple embrace on a bridge late at night.

Credit: Kate Brooks / Polaris

Kate Brooks

Kate Brooks began working as a freelance photojournalist in Russia while documenting systematic child abuse in state institutions. The resulting photographs were published world wide and used to raise money and campaign for orphans’ rights. Following 9-11, Brooks moved to Pakistan in order to photograph the impact of US foreign policy in the region and life in post-Taliban Afghanistan. In 2003 she went on to cover the invasion of Iraq and the beginning of the insurgency for Time. Since then she has worked extensively in the greater Middle East, photographing the political struggles and violent conflicts of the region, as well as examining the diverse identity of Muslim women and documenting daily life. Brooks has been the recipient of numerous international awards, and her photographs are regularly published in American and European magazines. She is currently based in Istanbul, Turkey.

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