Women of the Hamar tribe in Ethiopia frequently beg their men to beat them in public to prove their love and loyalty for the husbands.
Women confess that if it takes more than a month without being beaten, it would show the husband is not committed to the marriage.
“I usually beg my husband at least once a month to thoroughly beat me- that’s when I will know he cares for me.If he takes long without him beating me, I will start being worried, so I approach him and beg for a beating”, one of the women says.
Photos from one of the ceremonies conducted in Ethiopia show women nursing serious wounds with deep cuts, but looking closely at the photos, you’ll realize the women are happy.
During rite of passage of men after circumcision, women are paraded and allowed to request for serious beating from the newly circumcised men. During this ceremony, every women is expected to attend, where she is required to beg for “loyalty from men”—in this case loyalty means whipping. At the end of the ceremony, the women go home knowing their men love them.
Below are some of the photos taken during this important occasion in Ethiopia.
