African men step out with their babies on their backs

A new photo series sheds light on issues of gender equality

It’s not common to see men carrying their babies on their backs in Senegal, so one photographer decided to change that, capturing fathers with their babies on the streets of the capital, Dakar, as reported by the BBC.

“People were clapping — sometimes it was a bit hard to take the picture because we were having such a large audience,” the photographer, Marta Moreiras, told the BBC, of her portraits that are part of this year’s Sony World Photography Awards competition. “All the women were like: ‘Hey, give me five, I’m going to call my husband — we don’t see this every day.”

The story is similar in many parts of Africa, especially the smaller villages. In fact, Christian Children’s Fund of Canada works with families in rural Ethiopia to encourage fathers to take a more active role in rearing and playing with their children (pictured).

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