Women are more than half of the world

This woman gets an income from rowing tourists around in the Van Long Nature Reserve, Vietnam. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

The vast majority of women are exceedingly hard-working, occupied with various tasks, including cooking, cleaning, childcare, and field work. Generally, men are working much less, often sitting in groups all day long, drinking alcohol and commenting on the world around them. Today, when many women have jobs on par with men, their husbands often expect them also to cook and take care of the children.

Yes, women are indeed more than half of the world.

Like most men, I have an eye for beauty and grace in females of all age groups. This page shows a collection of pictures of women, old and young, whom I found attractive in one way or another, sometimes just by the dignified way they were carrying themselves, sometimes through the way they were working.

But first two poems and an extract from a book.

Drink to me only with thine eyes,

And I will pledge with mine;

Or leave a kiss within the cup,

And I’ll not ask for wine.

The thirst that from the soul doth rise

Doth ask a drink divine;

But might I of Jove’s nectar sup,

I would not change for thine.

I sent thee late a rosy wreath,

Not so much honoring thee

As giving it a hope, that there

It could not withered be.

But thou thereon didst only breathe,

And sent’st it back to me;

Since when it grows, and smells, I swear,

Not of itself, but thee.

From the poem To Celia, by English playwright and poet Benjamin Jonson (1572-1637).

The kitchen has been cleaned, everything is stowed away,

The tap is dripping in the sink.

The sun is glinting in cups, plates and glasses,

Glowing in the cherry wine bottle.

A rag is hanging over the faucet.

A fly is buzzing in the window, trying to get out,

Otherwise everything is very quiet.

The living room is quiet, the air is stale,

The clock is killing time.

In here, time is neither short nor long,

But the quietness is threatening and repressing.

Against the wall, in a chair at the table,

Sits Marie, sleeping in the sun.

In here, life is walking on clutches.

Marie is old, and now she is tired,

Her hands cannot do anything anymore.

She lived her life, she has laughed and wept,

And now she is tired of days.

Her husband was a first mate,

Who passed away one stormy night

On one of the seven seas.

Now she is sitting here, like a dark silhouette,

The Bible in front of her on the table,

It is just like her, dark-clad and worn,

Marie lives according to the Gospels.

The light is shining around her, so light and so fine,

Tenderly broken by the lace curtain,

Landing like snow flakes in her hair.

She is like a beautiful melody in minor,

A flower bitten by frost.

A life that has ended, a glow that has become cold,

A vessel approaching the coast.

When she was young she was lovely, but now she is beautiful,

Now, when the coil is nearing its end,

Like corn when ready to harvest.

Translation of the poem Maries efterår (‘Marie’s autumn’), from the LP Til Ane (1975), written in a local Danish dialect by Niels Hausgaard (born 1944), composer, musician, author, entertainer, and much more. In my opinion one of the most beautiful poems written about women.

“(The car) stopped just before us, with a rock and another cloud of dust, and a youthful female head popped out the passenger side window.

“You boys wunna rod?” she called.

“Yes, ma’am, we sure do,” we said, putting on our best behavior.

(…)

Her name was Donna, and they were on their way to some desperate-sounding community – Turkey Balls Falls or Coon Slick or someplace – another fifty miles up the road, but they were pleased to drop us in Hiawassee, if they didn’t kill us all first. Darren drove at 127 miles an hour with one finger on the wheel, his head bouncing to the rhythm of some internal song, while Donna twirled in her seat to talk to us. She was stunningly pretty, entrancingly pretty.

“Y’all have to excuse us. We’re celebrating.” She held up her plastic cup as if in toast.

“What’re you celebrating?” asked Katz.

“We’re gittin married tomorrah,” she announced proudly.

“No kidding,” said Katz. “Congratulations.”

“Yup. Darren yere’s gonna make a honest woman outta me.”

From the book A Walk in the Woods (1998), by American author William Bryson (born 1951).

Austria

Cambodia

The Khmer Empire (802-1431 A.D.) was a Southeast Asian Hindu kingdom, which left a superb legacy in the form of the Angkor Wat ruins, in present-day Cambodia.

In Hinduism, apsaras are supernatural female beings, superb in the art of dancing. They are often depicted, dancing to music, delivered by gandharvas, court musicians of the rain god Indra. Apsaras entertain and sometimes seduce gods and men.

This Khmer relief at Angkor Wat may depict apsaras. The dark smudges on their breasts are caused by numerous visitors, who seem to get some pleasure out of touching them! (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

Cameroun

China

Mother and son with rhododendron flowers, Wumeng Shan Mountains, Guizhou Province. Numerous species of rhododendron are presented on the page Plants: Rhododendrons. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

The Yunnan Province of south-western China is home to at least 25 tribal peoples, who often wear very colourful traditional dresses. A large number of pictures, depicting these and other Chinese tribal peoples, may be studied on the page People: Chinese minorities.

Denmark

Three Danish graces in their best finery, c. 1920. (Photo: Public domain)

Egypt

Ethiopia

These women are clapping during celebration of the Christian festival Timkat, the Ethiopian Tewahedo Church Epiphany, in Lalibela. This festival is best known for its ritual re-enactment of baptism, celebrating the baptism of Jesus Christ in the Jordan River. (Photos copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

Greece

Elderly women chatting during a shopping trip, Chania, Crete. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

Guatemala

Markets in Guatemala are a blaze of colours, the women wearing a blouse, called huipil, consisting of several layers of cloth, sown together into intricate patterns. Every village in Guatemala has its own distinct huipil colours and patterns, and almost every woman weaves the cloth for her huipil herself. These gorgeous blouses constitute a part of the daily dress – not only worn at religious festivals or other important events, as one might judge from the beauty of them.

Guatemala is described in depth on the page Travel episodes – Guatemala 1998: Country of the Mayans.

India

With a long wooden pestle, this young woman in the village of Agora, Asi Ganga Valley, Uttarakhand, is pounding her crop of wheat in a basket, hereby removing the husks. A hike up this valley is described on the page Travel episodes – India 2008: Mountain goats and frozen flowers. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

These village women have been collecting dung from buffaloes, which graze in Keoladeo National Park, Rajasthan. The dung is dried and stored, to be used later as fuel. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

Indian village women often collect fodder for their cattle in the forest or on grass-clad slopes.

Village women on their way into Keoladeo National Park, Rajasthan, to collect fodder. They use the bamboo poles, which has a hook attached at the top, to break off branches from the trees. This action is encouraged by the park staff, as most of the tree species in the park are invasive plants, which were originally planted in the area. (Photos copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

In the Himalaya, grandparents are highly respected, often participating in the upbringing of their grandchildren. I met this elderly woman with her grandson near the village of Umlung, Ladakh. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

Clad in beautiful local dresses, these Muslim women are shopping at a market in Kullu, Himachal Pradesh. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

The vast Thar Desert stretches across the state of Rajasthan, north-western India, and further west into Pakistan. The main part of this desert is level sand or gravel plains with scattered bushes and trees.

This desert is surprisingly densely populated, inhabited by a number of peoples, who belong to various religions, such as Jains, Bishnoi, Muslims, and Hindu Rajputs. Scattered across the bleak landscape lie numerous towns and villages. One such town is Jaisalmer, close to the Pakistani border, which was founded in 1156 by a Rajput prince, Roa Rawal Jaisal.

This fascinating desert is described in depth on the page Travel episodes – India 2003: Camel safari in the Thar Desert, whereas the Bishnoi people are dealt with on the page Travel episodes – India 1991: Bishnoi people live in harmony with nature.

Young woman from the town of Gushaini, Tirthan Valley, Himachal Pradesh. The red mark between her eyebrows, called a tika, indicates her status as a married woman. People in this area are Hindus of Caucasian origin, who migrated here from Rajasthan hundreds of years ago. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

Hindu women in the town of Karwar, Karnataka, South India. The tika mark on their forehead indicate their status as married women. Multi-coloured marks, as the one on the forehead of the woman in the lower picture, are usually applied only during Hindu festivals. (Photos copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

Indonesia

Women at dawn, waiting to sell their vegetables, Kintamani, Bali, Indonesia. The volcanoes in the background are Gunung Abang (2155 m, left) and Gunung Agung (3031 m). The latter is the highest mountain in Bali. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

Iran

The Lur are a people who live in the Zagros Mountains in south-western Iran. In 1973, I spent about six weeks in this area. My at times rather bizarre adventures in this area are related on the page Travel episodes – Iran 1973: In the mountains of Luristan.

Kyrgyzstan

In the summertime, a small number of Kyrgyz still live a semi-nomadic life. This picture shows an elderly woman, photographed in the Karakol Valley, Tien Shan Mountains. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

Malawi

The Achewa are a Bantu tribe, living around the southern part of Lake Malawi.

Malaysia

The indigenous population of Borneo is a multitude of Malayan tribes, known by the common name Dayaks. One of these peoples are the Punan, who live along the Rajang River, Sarawak. My visit to a Punan village is related on the page Travel episodes – Borneo 1975: Canoe trip with Punan tribals.

Nepal

The majority of the inhabitants in Kathmandu Valley are Newars, a people of mixed Caucasian and Mongoloid origin.

About 500 years ago, the Sherpa, a Tibetan tribe of pastoral nomads, migrated south and settled in several separate areas: Langtang, Helambu, Solu-Khumbu, and Arun Valley in Nepal, and Darjiling in India. In Tibetan, sherpa means ‘a person from the East’, relating to the fact that the Sherpa originated in eastern Tibet. Today, they number about 150,000, and they still speak a Tibetan dialect.

The Sherpa are Lama Buddhists, mainly of the Nyingma-pa School (also called ‘red-hats’, because the high lamas of this sect wear red hoods). Women have a very high status among the Sherpa, and usually weddings are not arranged by the parents. Sherpas love to eat meat, but their Buddhist religion condemns killing of any creature, so the slaughtering is done by non-Buddhist Tibetans. Only domestic animals are eaten, and wildlife in Sherpa areas is generally left in peace.

Among Westerners, the Sherpa are mainly known as excellent guides and climbers on mountaineering expeditions, and many Sherpas have scaled Sagarmatha (Mount Everest) several times. Today, numerous Sherpas work in the tourist industry.

This Gurung woman in the Marsyangdi Valley, Annapurna, is winnowing maize. The breeze will remove dust from the crop, and by beating the basket with an intricate movement of her left hand, the woman separates chaff from kernels. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

During the Hindu festival of Maha Shivaratri (‘Great Shiva’s Night’), women, clad in colourful saris, queue up to enter the main Shiva temple, Pashupatinath, Kathmandu. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

In the Himalaya, during the summer months, many families move to temporary shelters in high altitude grazing grounds for yaks, called kharka. Daily, they milk their female yaks, called nak, making butter and cheese from the milk.

The yak is described on the page Animals – Animals as servants of Man: Cattle, banteng and yak.

Nepalese village woman are often seen carrying heavy loads.

Village women often collect fodder for their cattle in the forest. This picture shows women, carrying bundles of leaves across a river near Sauraha, southern Nepal. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

From the safety on her mother’s back, this little Thakali girl in the Marsyangdi Valley, Annapurna, is watching my doings intensely, probably evaluating whether I am dangerous or not. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

Niger

Sri Lanka

The Sinhalese are a people from North India, who, in the 6th Century B.C., conquered most of Sri Lanka and created an advanced civilization with several competing kingdoms. The various peoples of Sri Lanka are presented on the page Travel episodes – Sri Lanka 1974: Among the Veddas.

During the 1980s, many poor people were settling in the jungle east of the town of Mahiyangana, eastern Sri Lanka. When a family settled in this area, the government would supply them with basic needs, including rice, lentils, sugar, and dried fish, for the first 15 months. After this period, they had to fend for themselves.

Our rather grotesque adventures in this area are described on the page Travel episodes – Sri Lanka 1983: Jungle trip with Ranjan.

Taiwan

In the enchanting old village of Chingliao, near Chiayi, south-western Taiwan, Judy and I met this elderly woman, who was selling dried vegetables. When Judy remarked that they were a bit expensive, she pointed out that they had been dried in the sun, and that they were so good that we would surely come back for more! As it later turned out, they were really tasty, but, unfortunately, Chingliao is far from where we live.

Taiwan is home to a multitude of peoples of Malayan origin, who inhabited this island long before the invasion of Chinese peoples. Today, these indigenous tribes are numbering about 600,000 persons, or c. 2.5% of the island’s population. They include the Bunun, numbering about 50,000 people, mainly live in the mountains in the central part of the island.

Thailand

At the so-called ‘floating market’ in Damnoensaduak, two women and a man sell various fruits from their boats: pineapples, grapes, rambutan (Nephelium lappaceum), mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana), pomelo (Citrus maxima), lime (Citrus aurantiifolia), and longan, or dragon-eye fruit (Dimocarpus longan). (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

Turkey

The marvellous Sultan Ahmed Camii (‘Sultan Ahmed Mosque’) in Istanbul is popularly known as ‘The Blue Mosque’. It was constructed between 1609 and 1616, during the rule of Sultan Ahmed I (1590-1617).

Pictures, depicting this gorgeous building, are shown on the pages Religion: Islam, In praise of the colour blue, and Dawn.

Vietnam

Four images below depict female street vendors in Hanoi.

This woman has a variety of vegetables for sale, including carrots, onions, cucumbers, tomatoes, beans, and leaf cabbage. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

From this long line of carrying baskets, various fruits and vegetables are sold, including oranges, apples, pineapples, eggplants, rambutan (Nephelium lappaceum), wax apples (Syzygium samarangense), and also flowers. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

Zambia

The majority of the population in Zambia are various tribes of Bantu people. The pictures below show two of these tribes from the northernmost part of the country, the Bena Kabende and the Unga. The latter, who live in the great Bangweulu Swamps, are presented in depth on the page Countries and places: Bangweulu – where water meets the sky.

(Uploaded January 2018)

(Latest update September 2023)

Kaj Halberg - writer & photographer

Travels ‐ Landscapes ‐ Wildlife ‐ People

Women are more than half of the world