Photo Library

A small girl from Sierra Leone carries her ceremonial knife. At her 5 years old she is learning how to become a circumciser to provide income for her family

Women clap, sing and dance during the ceremony. Sierra Leone is a traditional society and all ethnic groups practice FGM except the Creoles, who are mainly based in the capital, Freetown. 80-90% of the women in Sierra Leone are circumcised

Women, who are themselves circumcised, teach young girls how to sing, dance and cook. Traditionally, mothers prepare their daughters for adult life, marriage and motherhood, as well as for circumcision

The girls are often confined to bed after circumcision

Une jeune fille excisée sans anesthésie en 2005, un an avant les premières interventions chirurgicales de reconstruction clitoridienne au Burkina Faso (photo d’archives)

According to UNICEF, between 100 and 130 million women have been subjected to FGM and around two million girls are at risk of some form of this practice every year

Razor blades, knives or in some cases shards of glass are used to cut the genitals

For many men in Ethiopia, a circumcised woman is more desirable or eligible for marriage, according to their traditions

An excisor in rural Sierra Leone. FGM is usually carried out by elderly women in the community who receive income from the girls’ family members

Here, a razor blade is opened to be used for circumcision. Because one instrument is used for a number of operations, there is a risk of HIV/AIDS transmission

Ethiopian girls dancing and singing in an initiation ceremony, which symbolizes the transition between childhood and womanhood. FGM is a central part of this transition for many communities

Protestors calling for the resignation of Kyrygz President Askar Akaev

Army relief supply trucks in Barshore

A child suffering from Kala Azar being treated at Malakal hospital.

Some 42 percent of Yemenis are living under the poverty line of US $2 per day, according to the government

Marshood Aramu Balgum n'est jamais allé au Nigeria, mais n'a jamais été naturalisé ivorien

Un bidonville d'Abidjan habité principalement par des travailleurs migrants

Tertiary education remains a dream for many

Gypsies in Iraq face tough times.

Japanese and Syrian officials sign new grant to help orphans.

Vice President of Iraq, Ibrahim al-Jaffari.

Tayyip Erdogan [Turkey] and Meles Zenawi [Ethiopia], speaking in Addis Ababa.

Norwegian Ambassador Jorunn Maehlem (left) and British High Commissioner Andrew Pocock (right) cut a ribbon to signal the opening of the courtroom at the UN tribunal (ICTR) in Arusha, Tanzania, on 1 March. ICTR President Erik Mose (centre) looks on.