© David Bathgate / Corbis

A Shiite Muslim woman finds her way through the back entrance to Takia-Khona Mosque, Kabul, Afghanistan. March 2004.

© Lucian Read

Still holding his 9mm Beretta, a seriously injured First Sgt. Brad Kasal is carried from the “Hell House” by Lcpls. Chris Marquez and Dane Shaffer on Saturday, Nov. 13, 2004. First Sgt. Kasal lost much of his blood and nearly lost his right leg after being shot seven times by insurgents. His body was peppered with shrapnel as he used his body to shield an injured younger Marine, PFC Alex Nicoll, from a grenade blast.

© Paula Bronstein/Getty Images

In Kabul, Afghanistan, Jamalo, age 14, from Ghazni sits in her wheelchair outside the International Red Cross Orthopedic (ICRC) rehabilitation center, Nov. 21, 2009. Jamalo is now a paraplegic, crippled after her home became a battlefield during a violent attack between the Taliban and U.S forces over five months ago. She was inside her home during the attack when a rocket hit, killing four family members including her sister. She broke her arm and was hit by shrapnel. Ghazni is a Taliban-infested area so as a young handicapped female she has little hope of education or even marriage. A recent U.N. report has described 2009 as the deadliest year in terms of civilian casualties in Afghanistan since the start of the U.S.-led war against the Taliban in the country.

© Ryan Pyle

A fully veiled woman walks along a lane in the old town of Kashgar, Xinjiang, China.

Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times

Johnny Aralaji, the leader of a Badjao community in Puerto Princesa, Philippines, scans the sea for almost nonexistent schools of fish. Because the Badjao, a waterborne, mostly Muslim people known as “Bedouins of the sea,” do not celebrate birthdays, Aralaji guesses his age to be around 70. He sees the culture and traditions of his people sinking but remains unsentimental and resolute because he knows that they must seek land-based alternatives in order to simply survive. Palawan, Philippines, July 15, 2009.