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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Rehab Eldalil

Women behind the lens: sisterhood in the Sinai

Three women and a goat stand with their arms outstretched on a mountain ridge in the desert
From left: Nora, Nadia and Mariam on a mountain overlooking their village, near St Catherine’s monastery in Sinai, Egypt. Photograph: Rehab Eldalil

Every day, the women of Al Tarfa village in South Sinai, Egypt, walk from sunrise to sunset, leading a herd of sheep and goats as they feed on the wild plants of the surrounding mountains.

As the herd feeds, the women talk, share concerns, ask for advice and learn from one another, forming a sisterhood through mutual support and unity. It is a sense of connection and belonging that I long for.

This photograph, which I took in February 2021, is special to me because it represents the feminine power that balances the world: strength and fragility, quietness and turmoil, freedom and being grounded. In it, Nora, Nadia and Mariam stand on the edge of a mountain looking over their village of Al Tarfa, St Catherine, South Sinai, Egypt.

  • Rehab Eldalil is a documentary photographer born and based in Cairo, Egypt. Her work focuses on the broad theme of identity. Instagram: @rehabeldalil

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