Circumcision and forced marriage among Kenya’s Pokots
photo by Siegfried Modola (Reuters)

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Pokot girls sit inside a hut during their circumcision ceremony, about 80 kilometers from the town of Marigat in Baringo County, Kenya, October 16, 2014. 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.

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Pokot men and women gather by a fire at the start of a girls’ circumcision ceremony in Baringo County, Kenya, October 16, 2014. The ceremony starts the evening before the girls get circumcised and involves women and elders of the community gathering together, singing and dancing throughout the night.

Pokot girls, covered in animal skins walk in line during a circumcision tribal ritual in a village about 80 kilometers from the town of Marigat in Baringo County, Kenya, October 16, 2014. 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.

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Pokot women assist a girl, covered in animal skin and body paint during her circumcision ritual in Baringo County, Kenya, October 17, 2014. More than a quarter of girls and women in Kenya have undergone genital cutting, according to United Nations data.

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A Pokot woman performs a circumcision on a girl in a village in Baringo County, Kenya, October 16, 2014. 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.

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A Pokot woman holds a razor blade after performing a circumcision on four girls in a village in Baringo County, Kenya, October 16, 2014. 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.

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A Pokot girl cries after being circumcised in a village in Baringo County, Kenya, October 16, 2014. 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.

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Pokot girls covered with animal skins squat on rocks after being stripped naked and washed during their circumcision rite in a village in Baringo County, Kenya, October 16, 2014. More than a quarter of girls and women in Kenya have undergone genital cutting, according to United Nations data.

Pokot men grab a bull for an elder to bless during a ceremony of girls passing over to womanhood, before their families can give them as wives, in Baringo County, December 6, 2014. Livestock is an essential part of the Pokot’s way of living. It is used as dowry during marriage arrangements.

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A man holds a girl as she tries to escape when she realized she is to be married, Kenya, December 7, 2014. The future husband arrived to the home with a group of men to collect the girl. The girl was unaware of the marriage arrangements that were made.

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Pokot men stand near the home of a girl to be taken as wife for a member of their group, Kenya, December The future husband arrived with a group of men to collect the girl. The men arrived with the last settled dowry of livestock for the girl’s family.

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Pokot men carry a girl away to be married to a member of the group after forcibly taking her from her family home in Kenya, December 7, 2014. As Pokot tradition dictates, the future husband arrived to her family home with a group of men to collect the girl.