Women of Resilience: Stories from Ethiopia

Text & photos by Sosina Mengistu

October 23, 2025

This photographic collection spans Ethiopia from the northern highlands to the southern plains, from the eastern valleys to the western landscapes, capturing the rhythm of daily life and the quiet strength of its people. These photographs are stories of women and children whose resilience, labor, and endurance form the invisible backbone of their communities. These are the heartbeat of the places I come from.

Across villages and towns, I witnessed how women hold their families and communities together, often through acts that go unnoticed. They walk for hours to fetch clean water, carry heavy bundles to markets, and cultivate the land under the heat of the sun. Their days are long and demanding, yet they move with grace, determination, and purpose. These are not just images of survival, but of strength; —the kind that grows quietly, every day, through patience and persistence.

Many of these stories unfold in places where access to basic needs like clean water, education, or healthcare is limited. In some regions, young girls wake before sunrise to collect water for their families, walking through rocky paths that stretch for miles. By the time they return, their chance to attend school for the day has passed. Others sell vegetables or firewood to support their households. These journeys are more than physical; they are reflections of social and economic barriers that continue to shape life in rural Ethiopia. Through my lens, I want to bring these everyday acts of endurance closer to those who may never witness them firsthand.

The landscapes of Ethiopia, its mountains, rivers, and open skies are more than just backgrounds, they hold memory, history, and rhythm. The land is part of the story, shaping how people live, work, and dream. I often find myself pausing to photograph a woman walking along a winding road or children running across open fields, because these scenes convey something about the connection and the deep bond between people and the places they belong to.

While travelling across the country, I learned that resilience doesn’t always manifest in loud or heroic ways. Sometimes, resilience is in a mother’s calm face after a long day, in a child’s laughter while helping at home, or in a farmer’s steady hands planting seeds season after season. These moments remind me that hope doesn’t have to be grand; it can live quietly in the daily rhythm of life.

This work is also personal. I grew up in Ethiopia, surrounded by women whose strength shaped my understanding of what it means to endure and create beauty from hardship. Their stories, their gestures, their courage, they all live in every image I make. When I photograph Ethiopian women, I’m not just documenting; I’m remembering. I’m honoring what they represent: resilience, grace, and the quiet dignity of everyday life.

Through these images, I hope to offer a more intimate view of Ethiopia, one that moves beyond headlines or stereotypes.