Karen Waller, Mursi Woman (People)

A young woman from the Mursi tribe who live in the Omo Valley in Ethiopia. Traditionally women in this tribe have their lips pierced when they are young. The piercing is stretched over time with increasingly larger lips plates. There is a high risk of infection but it is possible now for girls to choose not to have this form of body modification. This young woman had chosen only have her earlobes pierced to enable her to wear the plates.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.