HeadStrong: The Women of Rural Uganda, a new photobook by New York-based photographer Dan Nelken, is out from Kehrer Verlag in 2026. It pairs portraits with the personal testimonies of a diverse group of working women across rural Uganda, and it includes contributions by the Ugandan writers Beatrice Lamwaka, Ber Anena, and Stella Nyanzi.

The project began in Gulu, at a quarry where nearly all the workers who break large rocks into gravel are women. Nelken had first come to Uganda as a volunteer, and over four trips he was struck by the women’s work ethic, poise, humor, and resilience. He set out to photograph them in Uganda’s natural light. The project grew into something larger when Lamwaka, a well-known Ugandan author, joined it. She interviewed the women about family planning, education, health, economic well-being, and the future, then wrote a short biographical narrative for each portrait, including the woman’s aspirations.

The women in the book work in many trades. The images include a jackfruit seller at the Central Market in Gulu, a mechanic with nine years in the trade, a woman who sells used clothes with her daughter beside her, a nurse and healer of 35 years, and a video game designer. Others work in the quarry, some with their children. Earlier exhibitions of the project featured quarry worker Akello Olga, who is 74 and has worked there for 28 years, and Jovia Aber, who at 10 works at the quarry on weekends to pay for school supplies and wants to become a doctor.

Nelken frames the women as the unrecognized backbone of Uganda’s economy. The country has one of the youngest and fastest-growing populations in the world, with a median age of 15.9, and in rural communities women are often the primary wage earners while also carrying most childrearing and domestic work. The book looks at the lack of education and opportunity that holds many of them back, and at the hope most of them keep anyway. Nelken says he worked with local advisors and activists to balance visibility with sensitivity to each woman’s circumstances.

The work has been widely recognized. It won first prize at the Kuala Lumpur International Photoawards 2019 and the Pollux Awards, took a bronze at the Tokyo International Foto Awards, and had two photographs shortlisted for the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize at the National Portrait Gallery in London in 2020. It has also been shown in exhibitions in Oregon, including at Blue Sky Gallery in Portland.

The book is a hardcover of 120 pages with 76 color illustrations, in English, designed by Nicole Gehlen of Kehrer Design. You can find more at Kehrer Verlag, and Nelken’s work is also on LensCulture.