French photojournalist Veronique de Viguerie has been awarded the prestigious 2025 Roger Pic Prize for her compelling documentary photo series titled “Afghanistan: A Land Without Women.” The collection offers a stark and profoundly moving visual narrative of Afghanistani women enduring life under Taliban rule, illuminating their quiet defiance and unwavering resilience in the face of systemic oppression. The jury praised the series for its deeply humanistic lens and for spotlighting the extraordinary courage of women resisting brutal violations of their fundamental rights.
Founded in memory of the acclaimed French journalist and documentarian Roger Pic, the award honors photographic works that explore pressing social and humanitarian issues with documentary depth. Accompanied by a 5,000 eurus grant, the prize will enable de Viguerie to showcase her series at the SCAM Gallery in Paris. De Viguerie, renowned for her immersive reporting from conflict zones such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Somalia, and Yemen, captures in this latest work the harrowing reality faced by women under Taliban rule. Her images are a piercing call to global consciousness, portraying both the suffocating constraints imposed on Afghanistani women and the quiet strength with which they resist erasure.
The award-winning series will premiere on June 7, 2025, at the La Gacilly Photo Festival and will subsequently be exhibited at the SCAM Gallery in Paris from October 13, 2025, to February 6, 2026. This recognition marks a significant moment not only for de Viguerie’s career but also for the role of documentary photography as a force for global advocacy. Her work stands as both a tribute to the unyielding spirit of Afghanistani women and a resounding indictment of the human rights abuses they continue to endure an artistic protest echoed far beyond Afghanistan’s borders.