Thanaka, a paste that has been used for centuries to protect skin from the sun, is traditionally applied in swirls to the cheeks of Rohingya Muslim women. Itʹs a custom female refugees in Bangladesh are keen to preserve.

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While the international media was still abuzz over a high profile case involving Malaysia’s former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, who is charged with corruption and criminal breach of trust, the country once again received global attention for its problem of child brides.

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A 10-year-old girl in central Somalia has died after undergoing female genital mutilation (FGM), prompting calls from campaigners to criminalise the internationally condemned practice in a country with the world’s highest rates.

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Drugs, violence, fatal intimidation: Women sell their bodies for as little as €39 in Germany, while others reap the profits of the transaction. DW met one woman who described her experience as a former sex trade worker.

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Female genital mutilation is still practised in many African countries, despite being officially banned. Girl members of the semi nomadic Pokot ethnic group in Kenya have to undergo the painful ritual.

 

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At least 15 million girls have been victims of sexual violence, yet only 1 in 100 sought help, according to the UN’s children’s agency. Most children knew their abusers, says the report’s author Claudia Cappa.

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Her hair is tied up in a top knot. Thick kohl lines her eyes up to the temples. Her forehead is painted in red, with a silver agni chakchuu – the third eye, which is known as the fire eye – staring out from the center. She sits playfully on her mother’s lap while one by one people kneel down to offer her flowers, donations or simply to touch her feet. She appears shy to me, as if not used to receiving strangers. Despite the shyness, her eyes sparkle with curiosity.

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