Big picture: Pakistani women, by Geoff Brokate and Kaye Martindale

Some have tales of horror – gang rape, physical abuse, lives lived in purdah. Many have happier stories, such as Humaira Bachal (above), the 21-year-old who started teaching slum children in her backyard at the age of 12 and now runs a school for women, children and child labourers. But all these Pakistani women are “outspoken, fearless and inspiring”, according to Kaye Martindale who, with her partner Geoff Brokate, photographed around 150 of them across the country – some in secret. → Photograph: Geoff Brokate and Kaye Martindale

Many are taking a stand against their patriarchal society. Mukhtar Mai was gang-raped but took her attackers to court and used her compensation to build a women’s refuge. Manzoora Mai (top right) is campaigning to end the practice of watta satta – where families exchange brides to save the need for a dowry. She and her daughter were attacked when they refused to adhere to the custom. → Photograph: Geoff Brokate and Kaye Martindale

Bulbulnisa (above) lives in a community where widows such as her have little value. She speaks out against this and, as a result, has been shunned as a witch. → Photograph: Geoff Brokate and Kaye Martindale

And then there’s Malala Yousafzai (above). The pair came across her when she was a 12-year‑old activist, speaking out against the Taliban and their attacks on girls’ education. “She was childlike and innocent, a daddy’s girl, but so passionate and courageous,” says Martindale. Yousafzai, now 15 and hospitalised in the UK last October after she was shot in the head by the Taliban, is due to continue her treatment next month with reconstructive surgery. “We wanted to give a voice to women who aren’t heard,” says Martindale. “Our feeling was that women in Pakistan don’t really control their own destiny. They must obey and not step out of boundaries. It’s a complicated society – the man controls his wife, but he is controlled by society.” Photograph: Geoff Brokate and Kaye Martindale