Algeria's Tattoos of Beauty

Aisha Djelal, 73, a berber woman from the Chaouia region, who has facial tattoos, gestures as she sits inside her house in Babar, Algeria October 10, 2015. Djelal was tattooed when she was 25. She wanted to be more attractive than other girls her age. Among the Chaouia people of the Aures mountains, a woman's beauty used to be judged by her tattoos. Traditionally, the more a woman was tattooed the higher she was prized by local men. Some believers have told these Muslim women that by allowing the tattoos they committed a sin according to Islam. To make amends, those who regret having the tattoos give away their treasured silver jewellery to the most deprived women they know. "I've given away all my silver jewellery after turning the offering seven times on my tattoo while I was crying", said Aisha. "I feel like every tear has washed away a bit of my tattoo". (Photo by Zohra Bensemra/Reuters)
Algeria's Tattoos of Beauty
   
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