In the historic Patan Durbar Square, life seems to have returned to normal a year after the earthquake. Here a group of contestants in the Miss Newari beauty pageant pose for a photo shoot. They are dressed in the bright red outfits worn by the Kumari, or child goddess, during festival days. Their photo will be included in a calendar released this month for the Nepali New Year.

PHOTO ESSAY: Struggles, Hopes and Fears of Women in Nepal, One Year After the Earthquake

Journalist Sonia Narang is in Nepal this month for the one year anniversary of the earthquake. Over 8,000 people were killed and 17,000 injured when a 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck the Katmandu Valley on April 25, 2015. Hundreds of thousands of lives were transformed in an instant.

In these beautiful photos, Narang documents some of those experiences, including the struggles, hopes and fears that women face as they piece their lives back together.  Follow Sonia Narang in Instagram.