Maasai-girls Isina & Naserian are sitting in their father’s hut a day before their planned circumcision.

Meeri Koutaniemi

Taken

[ EPF 2014 FINALIST ]

Taken is a long term work aiming to a book, which has a diversity of stories from circumcised women who share their struggles in daily life resulting from an incident that caused irreversible mental and physical consequences for the rest of their lives.

Female genital cutting has been widely judged as a procedure against human rights and as a serious violation against women’s sexual independence. It reflects deep-rooted inequality between the sexes, and constitutes an extreme form of discrimination against women.

Maasai man walking to the forest to help the others to bring the killed animals to the village.

Women of the village peeling potatoes for the ritual dinner.

Two children carriying pieces of trees for the circumcision.

Mother of Sankei is pouring milk to another woman’s hand to shave the hair of all the children who will be circumcised the following day.

Girls and boys will be shaved with razor blade and milk.

Naserian’s brother Sankei will be also circumcised and shaved by her mother.

Simel, second brother of Isina and Nasirian is being shaved too. Boys of the village are typically circumcised by a doctor.

Women are cleaning the site after the hair removal ritual.

Mother of Isina is showing the tool which will be used for the circumcision.

Two family members are watching while the girls are being shaved from their head.

Nasirian will be shaved a day before the circumcision in a Masai-village in Kenya.

Masai Man is drinking while he is herding the cattle.

Mejooli and Jennifer are siblings. Jennifer wants to campaign in her village against the tradition. Their father does not know about their thoughts.

The father of the girls taking part of a ritual, where he and his four wives will be marked with okra.

The World Health Organization estimates that there are more than 140 million mutilated women in the world. Female genital mutilation is a tradition practiced worldwide in 28 countries. As a project Taken aims to offer information about the dangers and horror of female genital mutilation and will be done together with female activists around the world for seeking a concrete change to stop the tradition of FGM.

The causes of female genital mutilation include a mix of cultural, religious and social factors within families and communities. The tradition stems from the belief that woman’s sexual organs are considered to be impure. FGM is often motivated by beliefs about what is considered proper sexual behavior, linking procedures to premarital virginity and marital fidelity.

The project includes stories of FGM survivors from 10 different countries. As a book Taken works as a platform to bring the tabu of mutilation and female sexuality into a more deep public discussion.

The father Lemaron is trying to stop his wife for a discussion.

Nasirian is crying during the starting of the circumcision.

Six women were holding Nasirian because she was moving out of pain.

An adult woman holds the wrist of Isina while she is struggling with the pain.

Isina screams for her physical pain.

A woman is cutting Nasirian’s clitoris and minor and major labia.

Cowshed just after the circumcision.

Nasirian resting few hours after the circumcision. She will stay in bed for four weeks and will be fed by animal blood and meat to recover her strength.

“Women will always cheat so men should accept and move on.”

Isina says she is not afraid of the consequences of the circumcision.

Bio

Meeri Koutaniemi, 26-old freelance photographer, was born in Lapland and lives currently around the world. Koutaniemi started as a photojournalist through her independent projects abroad. Koutaniemi does documentary photojournalism on issues concerning human rights and minorities, and combines her work with political activism.

Koutaniemi has worked as a photographer and a journalist in over 30 countries and filmed documentary movies in Bolivia and Mexico.

In 2014 Koutaniemi won the FreeLens Award in Lumix photo festival in Hannover with her exhibited documentary work Taken. Koutaniemi was selected as a participant to Joop Swart and VII Masterclass in 2014.

Koutaniemi is a founder member in an Italian Photo Agency Echo and belongs to Finnish Collective 11. In 2012 Koutaniemi received the Memorial Award of Tim Hetherington in United States and the Memorial Award of Carina Appel in Finland 2013. In 2012 and 2013 Koutaniemi was selected in Finland as the Photographer of the Year.

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Meeri Koutaniemi