WORLDWIDE | Sunday, 17 October 2010 | Views [1144]
This woman's back is scarred because she has participated in a Hamer "bull jumping" ceremony. When a young Hamer man reaches adulthood, he must complete the dangerous task of running back-and-forth over the backs of several bulls to prove that he has truly reached manhood. All of the women in his family, in a show of solidarity, beg to be whipped with rods until they bleed. This ceremony is politically controversial in Ethiopia, but to this woman the scars on her back are proud symbols of what she is willing to endure for her family.
