NEW YORK, Feb 21 — National Geographic has joined an exclusive list made up of celebrities like Beyoncé and Kim Kardashian to break the 100-million mark on Instagram, becoming the first brand to reach the nine-digit milestone.

Photos uploaded to the account are taken by NatGeo’s network of professional photographers around the world and are accompanied by lengthy captions that explain the significance and context of the subjects.

A series of powerful portraits capturing LGBTQI couples in countries like Nepal, Kenya and Lebanon, for instance, was posted on Valentine’s Day to serve as a powerful statement on forbidden love around the world.

Valentine’s Day, NatGeo points out, celebrates a saint who was imprisoned for performing weddings for soldiers who were legally forbidden to marry.

“On this Valentine’s Day, we’re thinking of the LGBTQI+ folks around the world who, like the soldiers, are not allowed to wed, whose love is not recognised as equal to that of their straight compatriots,” the caption continues.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Photos by @hammond_robin | “Don’t we have the right to live like straight couples and get the legal recognition?” says Artisha, a transgender woman, with her partner Armont, a gay man from Nepal (second image). “Aren’t we equal like other citizens of the country? Don’t we have the rights to find our partners? Our spirit hurts when these questions come to mind.” Lucky and John (above) are in a similar position in Kenya, as are Seth and Andrews (third image) from Ghana, Katia and Becky (fourth image) in Mozambique, and Abou El Kheir and Sari (last image) in Lebanon. Valentine’s Day celebrates a saint who was imprisoned for performing weddings for soldiers who were legally forbidden to marry. On this Valentine's Day, we’re thinking of the LGBTQI+ folks around the world who, like the soldiers, are not allowed to wed, whose love is not recognized as equal to that of their straight compatriots. At @WitnessChange we simply believe #LoveIsLove. To read more stories of LGBTQI+ love and survival follow @WhereLoveIsIllegal

A post shared by National Geographic (@natgeo) on

Then there’s the cheeky caption accompanying a picture of an Adélie penguin with its flipper around another penguin’s neck captured in Antarctica.

“‘It’s ok, buddy, we’re penguins. We can handle this blizzard.’ Pretty hard not to anthropomorphise a scene like this,” writes photographer Tim Laman. — AFP-Relaxnews