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Washington, D.C.May 15, 2025
Featured photograph by Deepti Asthana
Deepti Asthana has spent more than 10 years chronicling the intricate realities of gender and environmental issues within traditional Indian societies. Her photography tells stories of hardship and resilience, particularly around the lives of women, which form a body of work that has been recognized with multiple awards and featured in publications worldwide. Through her documentary-style storytelling, Asthana intimately photographs her subjects, a testament to the trust she forges during countless hours spent alongside the people who agree to share their personal lives.
“I believe we all carry stories within us, waiting to be shared. For me, photography and storytelling became the way to express mine.”
Asthana describes her entry into photography as an accident.
“Some things are just meant to happen,” she muses.
She was working in information technology in London when a colleague introduced her to the camera. She says she was initially drawn to the technical side of photography. “But soon, it became a tool of exploration of both the world and myself.”
When she eventually returned home to India, she began traveling with her camera in hand. With each stretch of “aimlessly wandering,” she says she began to rediscover her home country: “I saw more clearly the beauty, but also the inequality and injustice around me.”
Young women often spend up to six hours collecting water for their own needs, their families and their animals. Lifting heavy cans frequently results in health issues, particularly shoulder, neck and back pain. Babita Arya, a 10th grade student, struggles to find time for self-study after her daily chores, which include cooking, collecting fodder and gathering water. She also has younger siblings to care for. In this region, the expectations placed on girls differ greatly from those on boys. From a young age, girls are burdened with far more responsibilities.
Photograph by Deepti Asthana
As a woman often shedding light on narratives related to crimes and injustices against women, Asthana says her guard stays up, even after a decade in the field. “Yet, this makes my work even more urgent,” she presses.
Asthana’s own upbringing, raised by a single mother after the early loss of her father, may have left an indelible mark that helped shape her path. She witnessed an unwavering fight for dignity and equality in her mother, who instilled in Asthana a deep–seated sense of justice, which grew stronger as she encountered more and more women’s stories.
“They’ve reconnected me to myself, to others and to the world around me. I can’t imagine walking any other path.”
In her project “A Thousand Thorns” she offers a poignant photo story of the evolving aspirations of women in the Thar Desert of India’s northern state of Rajasthan. Through the lives of Pushpa and Pushta, two wives, one a mother, both in their mid-twenties, Asthana chronicled how these women carve out unique lives for themselves in a historically patriarchal society. Their determination led them to take up conservation work within a national park protecting the critically-endangered great Indian bustard.
“They are not just part of the solution, they are the solution,” says Asthana.
In 2023, with support from the National Geographic Society, she published “Weight of the Water”, a photography story about families affected by the water crisis in India’s Northwestern Himalayan region. The women of these households spend six to nine hours a day to meet their basic water needs, walking up to three miles (five kilometers) to find water sources up hilly terrains affected by deforestation activities and climate change. The task of fetching water, in addition to other housekeeping duties, falls largely on women and girls, and leaves little time for education and personal development.
Kanchan Mahara is on her way home from the nearby forest. She is the youngest daughter in a family of four girls and one son. It’s not uncommon for the girls to face impartial treatment, often expected to take on more physically demanding tasks such as fetching water.
Photograph by Deepti Asthana
“What inspires me the most is the quiet strength of women who are deeply rooted in their environment,” says Asthana. “Across rural India, I’ve met women who are leading powerful efforts to protect rivers, forests and ecosystems — not for recognition, but because it’s part of their identity, guided by generations of Indigenous knowledge and a deep respect for nature.”
Asthana has used photography as a guide to begin exploring and implementing solutions. With the help of a non-profit organization she helped construct a water tank in one of the communities she documented and eventually lived with. She estimates the time it has saved one young girl is more than 900 hours of her life each year, which can now be devoted to her educational and personal pursuits.
“Photography holds a unique kind of power. It tells a story, but it also carries the vision, emotion and perspective of the person behind the lens,” explains Asthana. “It’s a medium that opens both the mind and the heart. It allows people to feel, imagine and connect to lives they may never encounter and places they may never visit.”
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ABOUT THE WRITER
Natalie Hutchison is a Digital Content Producer for the Society. She believes authentic storytelling wields power to connect people over the shared human experience. In her free time she turns to her paintbrush to create visual snapshots she hopes will inspire hope and empathy.
About The National Geographic Society
The National Geographic Society is a global nonprofit organization that uses the power of science, exploration, education and storytelling to illuminate and protect the wonder of our world. Since 1888, National Geographic has pushed the boundaries of exploration, investing in bold people and transformative ideas, providing more than 15,000 grants for work across all seven continents, reaching 3 million students each year through education offerings, and engaging audiences around the globe through signature experiences, stories and content.
To learn more, visit www.nationalgeographic.org or follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook.
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