Yemen's servant underclass
Poverty is widespread in Yemen, but within this already deprived nation one group suffers the most, forced to cope not just with poor living conditions, but with brutal social prejudice and racism as well. They are commonly known as the Akhdam, meaning 'servants' but they call themselves the Muhamasheen - 'the marginalised people'.
An elderly woman and her grand daughter stand at the door of their hut.
Most Akhdam live with with few basic services such as running water, electricity and sewage networks.
They live in small huts haphazardly built out of wood and cloth.
A boy stands at the door of his family's hut in a slum.
A boy lies in a baby hammock.
Surrounded by slum houses, a woman from the Akhdam community holds her son.
A woman applies a traditional henna dye onto the legs of her daughters.
A boy stands at the door of his family's hut.
Fifteen-year-old Ahlam Salem had her legs amputated by cancer surgeons eight years ago due to malignant cancer tumour.
An Akhdam man cooks a meal of chicken feet.
A young girl carries a jerry can full of water that she collected from a makeshift well.
A man from the Akhdam community sleeps by the side of the road.
A girl hauls water from a rudimentary well.
Akhdam street cleaners collect garbage, one of the lowest-paid jobs in a poor country.
Houses are jumbled together in an Akhdam slum.
