A Pokot girl, covered in animal skins, walks to a place where she will rest after being circumcised in a tribal ritual. The traditional practice of circumcision within the Pokot tribe is a rite of passage that marks the transition to womanhood and is a requirement for all girls before they marry.
Siegfried Modola / Reuters
Pokot girls walk towards their homes prior to the beginning of their circumcision ceremony, in a village about 80 kilometres from the town of Marigat in Baringo County, Kenya.
Pokot girls wait together in a home before their circumcision ceremony. More than a quarter of girls and women in Kenya have undergone genital cutting, according to United Nations data.
A Pokot girl is smeared with a white paint after being circumcised.
A Pokot woman holds a razor blade after performing a circumcision on four girls. Despite a government ban on the life-threatening practice since 2011, the long-standing tradition remains a rite of passage, particularly among poor families in rural areas.
A Pokot girl bleeds onto a rock after being circumcised in a tribal ritual.
Siegfried Modola / Reuters
Pokot women and children rest by a fire during the early hours of the morning as they wait for the beginning of a circumcision ceremony.
Siegfried Modola / Reuters
Pokot girls, covered in animal skins, walk to a place where they will rest after being circumcised.
Siegfried Modola / Reuters
A Pokot girl cries after being circumcised.
Siegfried Modola / Reuters
