Reuters photographer Siegfried Modola gained access to a circumcision ceremony in rural Kenya for young girls of the Pokot tribe, in Baringo County.

The traditional practice of circumcision is a rite of passage that marks the transition to womanhood and is a requirement for all girls of the tribe before they marry.

More than a quarter of girls and women in Kenya have undergone genital cutting, according to United Nations data. Despite a government ban on the life-threatening practice since 2011, the long-standing tradition remains a rite of passage for girls, particularly among poor families in rural areas.

female genital mutilation
Girls from the Pokot tribe stand outside one of the girl's homes prior to the beginning of their circumcision ceremony in a village about 80 kilometres from the town of Marigat in Baringo County, Kenya Siegfried Modola/Reuters
female genital mutilation
The girls sit inside a hut and wait for their circumcision ceremony to begin Siegfried Modola/Reuters
female genital mutilation
The girls are encouraged to leave their hut and make their way to their circumcision ceremony Siegfried Modola/Reuters
female genital mutilation
The girls squat on rocks after being stripped and washed before being circumcised Siegfried Modola/Reuters
female genital mutilation
A Pokot woman performs a circumcision on a girl Siegfried Modola/Reuters
female genital mutilation
A Pokot woman holds a razor blade after performing a circumcision on four girls Siegfried Modola/Reuters
female genital mutilation
A girl bleeds onto a rock after being circumcised Siegfried Modola/Reuters
female genital mutilation
A girl cries after being circumcised in a tribal rite of passage Siegfried Modola/Reuters
female genital mutilation
A girl is smeared with white paint after being circumcised Siegfried Modola/Reuters
female genital mutilation
A Pokot girl covered in animal skins walks to a place where she will rest after being circumcised in a tribal ritual Siegfried Modola/Reuters
female genital mutilation
Wrapped in animal skins, girls are taken to a place where they will rest after being circumcised Siegfried Modola/Reuters

Every ten seconds, a girl is put though female genital mutilation. Girls are among the most vulnerable people in the world, and 125 million girls and women worldwide have been subjected to FGM – most of them before the age of 15.

Despite being outlawed in most countries, the practice is still widely performed across Africa, the Middle East and Indonesia.

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