In a place like Afghanistan where the society is completely segregated, women have access to women. Men cannot always photograph women and cannot get the access that I get.
I would never think of myself as a role model.
I’m not very religious at all – I was raised Catholic, but probably haven’t gone to church since my Holy Communion when I was about 6 or 7.
As a Western woman in the Middle East, I am often put in a different category. I am sort of like the third sex. I am not treated like a man. I am not treated like a woman. I am just treated like a journalist. That is usually really helpful.
When I first started out, I really felt like, ‘I’m a journalist; I will be respected as a neutral observer.’ And I don’t feel like that holds true anymore. I don’t think people respect journalists the same way they once did.
I try not to get caught up in how our society is so inundated with images, and stay very focused on the work that I’m doing.
Obviously I am a photographer and I believe in my medium: I do think that powerful photographs can force change. It doesn’t take long to look and be engaged in a strong image whereas, with a story, you have to actually sit down and pause and be involved in it.
For a journalist who covers the Muslim world, we have responsibilities to be familiar with that culture and to know how to respond to that.
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