Umoja: a feminist village in East Africa.

Three hundred and eighty kilometers
north of Nairobi, a clan of Samburu
shephers -closely related to the Masaihave assembled in the middle of the
savana for the circumcision ceremony
of their young. At sunrise, twenty
adolescent boys aged between 12 to
22 undergo the rite of passage that will
bring them into the adult world. Close
by their sisters and cousins come
before the knife as they, too,
experience ritual excision. Despite the
official ban on female genital mutilation
introduced in Kenya since 2001, the
girls know that without undergoing the
ritual their chances of finding a
spouse and getting married would be
seriously compromised. In the midst of
this, the wife of a local chief protests in
vain. Rebecca Lolosoli has been
campaigning against the practice of
female circumcision, though her pleas
fall upon deaf ears. In her forties, the
charismatic Lolosoli was invited to the
UN to speak on the issue so close to
her heart, and happens to be founder
of Umoja ("Unity" in Swahili), a village
where the law is in the hands of
women.
Umoja - a women's commune in northern Kenya.
Photos ©Bruno Fert/In Visu/Lightmediation Text ®Christelle Dedebant
Contact - Thierry Tinacci Lightmediation Photo Agency +33 (0)6 61 80 57 21 [email protected]
921-07: Samburu warriors collect blood from a cow to give it as a drink to the young people who have just been circumcised. Village of Rorora.
Umoja: a feminist village in East Africa. / 921-01: A girl of the village of Umoja attends a traditional
ceremony of circumcision in the village of Rorora. / Kenya / Rorora
Umoja: a feminist village in East Africa. / 921-02: Johan, 15 (at the right) waits for the beginning of the rite
of circumcision that will make him reach the rank of morane (warrior). Two older warriors are in charge of
Umoja: a feminist village in East Africa. / 921-03: Samburu warriors dance and sing during the ceremony
of circumcision organized in the village of Rorora. At dawn, about twenty teenagers (boys and girls) are
Umoja: a feminist village in East Africa. / 921-04: Johan, 15 (In the center) is going to undergo the ritual
ablation which will propel him in the adult world and will make him a Morane. Beside him, warriors,
921-08: Samburu warriors get ready for a ritual dance during a wedding in the village of Supelake, located to 1 km of Umoja.
Umoja: a feminist village in East Africa. / 921-05: Laila, 15 years, gets ready to be circumcised at the dawn
of her wedding in the village of Nakwamor. The women of the village pour milk on her face before cutting
Umoja: a feminist village in East Africa. / 921-06: Silalen, a young bride (right), and Saraï who has just
circumcised her wait for the beginning of the wedding ceremony in the village of Supelake (at 1 km from
Umoja: a feminist village in East Africa. / 921-07: Samburu warriors collect blood from a cow to give it as a
drink to the young people who have just been circumcised. Village of Rorora. / Kenya / Rorora
Umoja: a feminist village in East Africa. / 921-08: Samburu warriors get ready for a ritual dance during a
wedding in the village of Supelake, located to 1 km of Umoja. / Kenya / Superlake
921-11: Rebecca Lolosoli, (second from the right) walks together with three residents of Umoja village. Rebecca founded Umoja - "Unity in Swahili - in 1991 to take in rejected or raped women. Today, Umoja is lived and
steered by about fifty women samburu. Women from Umoja refuse to practice girls' circumcision.
Umoja: a feminist village in East Africa. / 921-09: Samburu warriors get ready for a ritual dance during a
wedding in the village of Supelake, situated to 1 km of Umoja. / Kenya / Superlake
Umoja: a feminist village in East Africa. / 921-10: Silalne, 12-year-old bride, attends the ritual dances
performed in her honor in the village of Supelake, located to 1 km of Umoja. / Kenya / Superlake
Umoja: a feminist village in East Africa. / 921-11: Rebecca Lolosoli, (second from the right) walks together
with three residents of Umoja village. Rebecca founded Umoja - "Unity in Swahili - in 1991 to take in
Umoja: a feminist village in East Africa. / 921-12: An inhabitant of Umoja carries water. About fifty women
and more than two hundred children live in this feminist enclave. Some found refuge there after having
921-14: The residents of Umoja meet around Rebecca under "the tree of speech" to make decisions. In the village, only the women have the power of decision and everything is democratically discussed.
Umoja: a feminist village in East Africa. / 921-13: A woman washes her child in front of her hut. Two
hundred children live with their mother at Umoja. Half of them attends the nursery school of the village. /
Umoja: a feminist village in East Africa. / 921-14: The residents of Umoja meet around Rebecca under
"the tree of speech" to make decisions. In the village, only the women have the power of decision and
Umoja: a feminist village in East Africa. / 921-15: Esta, 26 years, travelled two days on foot to flee an
ultra-violent husband who blamed her for having lost a goat. She lives since few days in Umoja with one
Umoja: a feminist village in East Africa. / 921-16: Magaret Natukoï, 27 years, returns from far : orphan at 6,
married at 13, she asserts having been violated by British servicemen while she was wacthing her goats. "
921-16: Magaret Natukoï, 27 years, returns from far : orphan at 6, married at 13, she asserts having been violated by British servicemen while she was wacthing her goats. " My husband did not bear it. He outcast me
with our two children. The rape, it is not the most difficult: it is the exile which is really unbearable ".
Umoja: a feminist village in East Africa. / 921-17: Sawadee, 12 and her mother, Nasara 30. Sawadee
walks for 40 km on foot to join her mother who has taken refuge to Umoja. / Kenya / Umoja
Umoja: a feminist village in East Africa. / 921-18: Usia, 68. Widow without resources and abandoned by
her family, Usia is living in "Umoja" / Kenya / Umoja
Umoja: a feminist village in East Africa. / 921-19: Rebecca Lomosoli (face on) dances with other women
for a ceremony in the village of Rorora nearby Umoja. / Kenya / Rorora
Umoja: a feminist village in East Africa. / 921-20: Children of Umoja play around the around the twenty
huts which compose the village. Two hundred children live there with their mother. Half of them attend the
921-17: Sawadee, 12 and her mother, Nasara 30. Sawadee walks for 40 km on foot to join her mother who has taken refuge to Umoja.
Umoja: a feminist village in East Africa. / 921-21: A resident of Umoja displays necklaces for the tourists.
The village receives daily dozens of Westerners tourists who are coming for photographic safaris. / Kenya
Umoja: a feminist village in East Africa. / 921-22: Women of Umoja perform a dance in front of Dutch
visitors. The village receives daily many Westerners. During one hour, these visitors are welcomed by
Umoja: a feminist village in East Africa. / 921-23: Dutch visitors take pictures of samburu women in the
village of Umoja. The village receives daily contingents of Westerners converted to the cultural tourism.
Umoja: a feminist village in East Africa. / 921-24: Two German tourists greet women from Umoja village.
The village receives daily small groups of tourists. A large part of the incomes of Umoja comes from the
921-21: A resident of Umoja displays necklaces for the tourists. The village receives daily dozens of Westerners tourists who are coming for photographic safaris.
Umoja: a feminist village in East Africa. / 921-25: A German tourist greets women from Umoja village. The
village receives daily small groups of tourists. A large part of the incomes of Umoja comes from the
Umoja: a feminist village in East Africa. / 921-26: An inhabitant of Umoja carries water. About fifty women
and more than two hundred children live in this feminist enclave. Some found refuge there after having
921-23: Dutch visitors take pictures of samburu women in the village of Umoja. The village receives daily contingents of Westerners converted to the cultural tourism. During one hour, these visitors are welcomed by
traditional songs, educated about devastation of polygamy and circumcision in Samburu community.
921-15: Esta, 26 years, travelled two days on foot to flee an ultra-violent husband who blamed her for having lost a goat. She lives since few days in Umoja with one of her four children: " here, each is his own boss,
Even without man! "