Staged Portraits, 2nd prize
Mournful
Ebrahim Noroozi
05 December, 2011
Women in the Iranian city of Khorramabad are dressed for the ceremony of Chehel Manbar. The commemoration of the battle of Karbala, when Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, was killed, is one of the most important ceremonies of the year for Shia Muslims.
Ebrahim Noroozi
Ebrahim Noroozi was born in 1980 in Tehran, Iran. He began working as a professional photographer in 2004, with Fars News Agency. His photographs have appeared nationally and in...
Khorramabad, Iran
Women in the Iranian city of Khorramabad are dressed for the ceremony of Chehel Manbar. The commemoration of the battle of Karbala, when Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, was killed, is one of the most important ceremonies of the year for Shia Muslims.
On the ninth day of the Muslim month of Muharram—on the eve of the climactic Day of Ashura—women in some regions participate in Chehel Manbar. In an act of mourning for Hussein they go veiled and barefoot to light candles at forty different locations.
Ceremonies differ from city to city, according to regional traditions. In Khorramabad, women light candles in the doorways of houses and offer cookies to the occupants. They may also cover their head and shoulders with clay in an act of mourning.
Our annual contest recognizes and rewards the best in photojournalism.
Our exhibitions showcase stories that make people stop, feel, think and act to a worldwide audience.
Through our education programs, the World Press Photo Foundation encourages diverse accounts of the world that present stories with different perspectives.
