Women on the frontline: female war photographers – in pictures

There is a long history of female photographers working in war zones, with many playing a decisive role in shaping perceptions of armed conflict. An exhibition in Düsseldorf, Germany, features about 140 works by acclaimed photographers including Carolyn Cole, Susan Meiselas, Lee Miller and Gerda Taro taken over the past 80 years

Main image: Massacre at Quarantaine in Beirut, Lebanon, 1976. Photograph: Françoise Demulder

  • Baghdad, Iraq, 16 April 2004. An image of Saddam Hussein, riddled with bullet holes, is painted over by Salem Yuel at what was once a Fedayeen guerrilla training camp. It will be replaced with a sign for the Syrian Democratic party headquarters. The symbols of Hussein are quickly disappearing throughout the city
    An image of Saddam Hussein, riddled with bullet holes, is painted over by Salem Yuel at what was once a Fedayeen guerrilla training camp in Baghdad

  • Massacre at Quarantaine in Beirut, Lebanon, 1976
    Massacre at Quarantaine in Beirut, Lebanon, 1976

  • Ciudad Sandino in Nicaragua, 1978. Police search passersby travelling by car, truck, bus and on foot
    Ciudad Sandino in Nicaragua, 1978. Police search people passersby travelling by car, truck, bus and on foot

  • Vietnam, April 1967. US Navy officer Vernon Wike with a dying US Marine at the Battle of Hill 881, near Khe Sanh
    Vietnam, April 1967. US Navy officer Vernon Wike with a dying US Marine at the Battle of Hill 881, near Khe Sanh

  • Dozens of bodies are laid in a mass grave on the outskirts of Monrovia, Liberia, August 2003
    Dozens of bodies are laid in a mass grave on the outskirts of Monrovia, Liberia, August 2003

  • Vietnam, September 1966. US bombs pummel Binh Dinh province
    Vietnam, September 1966. US bombs pummel Binh Dinh province

  • Ethiopia, 30 May 1991. The fall of Addis Ababa
    Ethiopia, 30 May 1991. The fall of Addis Ababa

  • Nicaragua, 1978. A traditional Indian dance mask from the town of Monimbó, worn by anti-government fighters to conceal their identity during the battle against the dictator Anastasio Somoza Debayle
    Nicaragua, 1978. A traditional Indian dance mask from the town of Monimbó, worn by anti-government fighters to conceal their identity during the battle against the dictator Anastasio Somoza Debayle

  • Baghdad, Iraq, November 2004. US Marines raid the house of an Iraqi delegate in the Abu Ghraib district.
    Baghdad, Iraq, November 2004. US Marines raid the house of an Iraqi delegate in the Abu Ghraib district.

  • Refugees from Málaga in Almería, Spain, February 1937
    Refugees from Málaga in Almería, Spain, February 1937

  • Nouenna, Western Sahara, December 1976. A woman holds her child and a rifle during training of Polisario soldiers in Western Sahara. The Polisario was an army dedicated to fighting Moroccan and Mauritanian occupation
    Nouenna, Western Sahara, December 1976. A woman holds her child and a rifle during training of Polisario soldiers in Western Sahara. The Polisario was an army dedicated to fighting Moroccan and Mauritanian occupation

  • Salavat, Afghanistan, September 2010. Afghan men on a motorcycle overtake Canadian soldiers during a patrol in Panjwaii district
    Salavat, Afghanistan, September 2010. Afghan men on a motorcycle overtake Canadian soldiers during a patrol in Panjwaii district

  • Freed prisoners scavenging in the rubbish dump, Dachau, Germany, 1945. Lee Miller wrote: ‘Prisoners were prowling these heaps, some of which were burning, in the hope of finding something more presentable than what they were wearing already’
    Freed prisoners scavenging in the rubbish dump, Dachau, Germany, 1945. Lee Miller wrote: ‘Prisoners were prowling these heaps, some of which were burning, in the hope of finding something more presentable than what they were wearing already’

  • Barcelona, Spain, August 1936. A Republican militia fighter training on a beach
    Barcelona, Spain, August 1936. A Republican militia fighter training on a beach

  • Belfast, Northern Ireland, 1972. Daily life goes on in the city, even with a constant military reminder of the anti-English struggle, as five boys dressed for carnival celebrations are frisked by a soldier against a wall
    Belfast, Northern Ireland, 1972. Daily life goes on in the city, even with a constant military reminder of the anti-English struggle, as five boys dressed for carnival celebrations are frisked by a soldier against a wall
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