Signaling respect for Islamic traditions, their hands are painted with henna and their bodies are covered. Yet the place of women in Mauritania is unique in the Arab world. In this tribal society of former nomads, where a third of the population is descended from unions between Moors and their black slaves, women can get divorced and remarried and are able to assert their independence through freedom of expression.

Ajiba has the distinction of having been Mauritania's first airline hostess. Today she introduces tourists to the nomadic lifestyle by showing them around large tents erected on the beach near the capital, Nouakchott. Signaling respect for Islamic traditions, their hands are painted with henna and their bodies are covered. Yet the place of women in Mauritania is unique in the Arab world. In this tribal society of former nomads, where a third of the population is descended from unions between Moors and their black slaves, women can get divorced and remarried and are able to assert their independence through freedom of expression.

Signaling respect for Islamic traditions, their hands are painted with henna and their bodies are covered. Yet the place of women in Mauritania is unique in the Arab world. In this tribal society of former nomads, where a third of the population is descended from unions between Moors and their black slaves, women can get divorced and remarried and are able to assert their independence through freedom of expression.

Signaling respect for Islamic traditions, their hands are painted with henna and their bodies are covered. Yet the place of women in Mauritania is unique in the Arab world. In this tribal society of former nomads, where a third of the population is descended from unions between Moors and their black slaves, women can get divorced and remarried and are able to assert their independence through freedom of expression.

Signaling respect for Islamic traditions, their hands are painted with henna and their bodies are covered. Yet the place of women in Mauritania is unique in the Arab world. In this tribal society of former nomads, where a third of the population is descended from unions between Moors and their black slaves, women can get divorced and remarried and are able to assert their independence through freedom of expression.

Signaling respect for Islamic traditions, their hands are painted with henna and their bodies are covered. Yet the place of women in Mauritania is unique in the Arab world. In this tribal society of former nomads, where a third of the population is descended from unions between Moors and their black slaves, women can get divorced and remarried and are able to assert their independence through freedom of expression.

Signaling respect for Islamic traditions, their hands are painted with henna and their bodies are covered. Yet the place of women in Mauritania is unique in the Arab world. In this tribal society of former nomads, where a third of the population is descended from unions between Moors and their black slaves, women can get divorced and remarried and are able to assert their independence through freedom of expression.

Signaling respect for Islamic traditions, their hands are painted with henna and their bodies are covered. Yet the place of women in Mauritania is unique in the Arab world. In this tribal society of former nomads, where a third of the population is descended from unions between Moors and their black slaves, women can get divorced and remarried and are able to assert their independence through freedom of expression.

The girl in the center flaunts her freedom by showing her chest and wearing a hairstyle normally reserved for married women. Signaling respect for Islamic traditions, their hands are painted with henna and their bodies are covered. Yet the place of women in Mauritania is unique in the Arab world. In this tribal society of former nomads, where a third of the population is descended from unions between Moors and their black slaves, women can get divorced and remarried and are able to assert their independence through freedom of expression.

Signaling respect for Islamic traditions, their hands are painted with henna and their bodies are covered. Yet the place of women in Mauritania is unique in the Arab world. In this tribal society of former nomads, where a third of the population is descended from unions between Moors and their black slaves, women can get divorced and remarried and are able to assert their independence through freedom of expression.

Although Teiché hides behind Maty, it is she who runs the cooperative of Oualata, a farming community in the far east of the country. Signaling respect for Islamic traditions, their hands are painted with henna and their bodies are covered. Yet the place of women in Mauritania is unique in the Arab world. In this tribal society of former nomads, where a third of the population is descended from unions between Moors and their black slaves, women can get divorced and remarried and are able to assert their independence through freedom of expression.

A woman on a road in the south, who belongs to the 10 percent of Mauritanians still leading a nomadic life. Nowadays their herds tend to consist of goats rather than camels. Signaling respect for Islamic traditions, their hands are painted with henna and their bodies are covered. Yet the place of women in Mauritania is unique in the Arab world. In this tribal society of former nomads, where a third of the population is descended from unions between Moors and their black slaves, women can get divorced and remarried and are able to assert their independence through freedom of expression.

Science & Technology,1st prize