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The Cocopah fishermen haul was massive but the teeming waters kept them in too long as the tide rapidly went low. As a result they were left to crawl through thick and deep mud along the exposed river banks as they made their way back to their…

In Nepal, the Maoists formally ended a decade long insurection that killed over 13,000 after signing a treaty in November of 2007. Elections took place on April 10, 2008 that ended the monarchy which has ruled Nepal since the country's birth. Many…

Sheelan Anwar Omer, 7, is carried home by her mother after her female circumcision. “This is the practice of the Kurdish people for as long as anyone can remember,” said the mother, Aisha Hameed, 30, a housewife in this ethnically mixed town 150…

Maharoub Juwad Nawchas, a 40-year-old midwife with traditional Kurdish tattoos covering her chin. She learned from her mother, who used to perform the procedures for free, though Nawchas now charges 4,000 Iraqi dinars, or just under $3.50, because…

Sheelan Anwar Omer, 7, continues to cry after a female circumcision was preformed on her. More than 60 percent of women in Kurdish areas of northern Iraq have been circumcised, according to a study conducted this year. In at least one Kurdish…

After Sheelan Anwar Omer, 7, is circumcised by the midwife, she is presented to the other girls who have already been circumcised. Despite its reputation as the most progressive part of Iraq, Kurdistan is the only known part of the country—and one…

The midwife comforts Sheelan Anwar Omer, 7, after cutting part of her genitals in a circumcision using a new razor. “This is the practice of the Kurdish people for as long as anyone can remember,” said the mother, Aisha Hameed, 30, a housewife in…

A midwife slices part of Sheelan Anwar Omer's, 7, genitals while performing a circumcision. Omer is held by her mother and a local woman. Maharoub Juwad Nawchas, the 40-year-old midwife, also delivered Omer and is a trusted and valued member of the…

Sheelan Anwar Omer, 7, enters a room looking for the party her mother had promised. As a local woman closed the door behind her, her mother told her to take off her underwear. “I do this in the name of Allah!” intoned the midwife before…

Sheelan Anwar Omer, 7, enters a room looking for the party her mother had promised. As a local woman closed the door behind her, her mother told her to take off her underwear. This Kurdish neighborhood considers female circumcision a rite-of-passage…