Tasaru Safehouse For Girls

NAROK, KENYA - DECEMBER 21: Young girls walk in arms on the grounds of the Tasaru Safehouse for Girls December 21, 2006 in Narok, Kenya. The Tasaru Safehouse supports board, lodging and education of young Maasai girls from preteens to late teens who seek refuge from female circumcision and early marriage. In 2001, the Kenyan government passed the Children's Act which highlights the right of a child to receive an education. It also issues a ban on what is now referred to as Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and early marriage (below 18 years). News of the recent law and the conviction to conform with the changing belief system has not reached many in the rural and remote areas of the Rift Valley. The girls stay at the Safehouse during their school breaks in April, August and December. During this time, new girls arrive at the center as these months are the usual months for circumcision rituals. The girls tend to immediately take in the new addition and support her in her transition to a new environment. (Photo by Marvi Lacar/Getty Images)