RNS Photos of the Week: Shivaratri; International Women's Day

(RNS) — Each week Religion News Service presents a gallery of photos of religious expression around the world. This week’s photo gallery includes Shivaratri, International Women’s Day commemorations and more.   Hindu devotees line up to enter a temple to offer prayers during Shivratri festival in Jammu, India, India, Friday, March 8, 2024. Shivaratri, or the night of Shiva, is dedicated to the worship of Lord Shiva, the Hindu god of death and destruction. (AP Photo/Channi Anand)   A Hindu holy man smokes marijuana on the Pashupatinath temple premises during Shivaratri festival in Kathmandu, Nepal, Friday, March 8, 2024. Shivaratri, or the night of Shiva, is dedicated to the worship of Lord Shiva, the Hindu god of death and destruction. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)   Artists dressed as Hindu deities perform during a religious procession on the occasion of Shivaratri festival in Prayagraj, India, Friday, March 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)   A Star of David badge marked “Jood,” the word for Jew in Dutch, which Jewish residents of the Nazi-occupied Netherlands were forced to wear during World War II, is displayed at the new National Holocaust Museum in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Tuesday, March 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)   Pakistani Muslims devotees light lamps at the shrine of Muslim Sufi saint Shah Hussain, to pay tribute during a three-day annual festival in Lahore, Pakistan, Saturday, March 2, 2024. Thousands of pilgrims arrived from different cities to attend the Urs, or the festival. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)   Women supporters of the Jamaa-e-Islami religious party take part in a rally to mark International Women’s Day in Lahore, Pakistan, Friday, March 8, 2024. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)   Participants of the “Women Leaders: Towards a Brighter Future” conference marking International Women’s Day 2024, listen to a speech by Cristiane Murray, deputy director, Holy See press office, at the Vatican, March 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)   A family arranges flowers on the the grave of a relative ahead of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan in Jakarta, Indonesia, Friday, March 8, 2024. Prior to Ramadan, the holiest month in Islamic calendar, Indonesian Muslims follow local tradition to visit cemeteries to pray for their deceased loved ones. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)   Palestinians pray at the site a mosque destroyed by the Israeli airstrikes in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Friday, March 8, 2024, ahead of the holy Islamic month of Ramadan. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)   A boy looks at traditional lanterns ahead of the upcoming Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, in Cairo, Egypt, Thursday, March 7, 2024. Muslims throughout the world are preparing to celebrate Ramadan, the holiest month in the Islamic calendar, by refraining from eating, drinking, smoking and sex from sunrise to sunset. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)   People take selfies in front of the Ramadan light installation celebrating the start of Ramadan, at Piccadilly Circus in London, Thursday, March 7, 2024. This will be the 2nd year that Ramadan lights have been installed in central London. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)   Archival Photos   First Lady Lady Bird Johnson processes at the funeral of King Paul of Greece on March 12, 1964. With her are Greek Orthodox Archbishop Makarios of Cyprus and Prince Philip, who represented Queen Elizabeth II of Britain. The U.S. delegation tothe funeral of the world’s last Orthodox Christian monarch included Archbishop Iakovos of New York, head of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America, and former President Truman. (RNS archive photo. Photo courtesy of the Presbyterian Historical Society.)   John O’Riordan and family of Phoenix, Arizona, hoist an Irish flag alongside Old Glory in honor of St. Patrick in March 1964. Born in Abbeyfeale, Ireland, on the Saint’s feast day, March 17, O’Riordan also flies the colors of Ireland on U.S. holidays. O’Riordan, who has lived in the U.S. since 1949, made his first return trip to Ireland in 1963, taking along his family. (RNS archive photo. Photo courtesy of the Presbyterian Historical Society.)   Talk to Us We want your feedback on the RNS Photos of the Week — what you think we're doing right and what we should be doing differently. Send us an email at Comments@ReligionNews.com Subscribe to other RNS Newsletters. Forward this email to a friend. View the archive of past newsletters. RNS is free to read, but it's not free to produce. If you value our reporting, please consider making a donation today. If you prefer to mail a donation, please address to: Religion News Foundation, PO Box 1808, Columbia, MO 65205. Yes, I support the work you're doing! Forward this email to a friend