Mar 9, 2013

Issues surrounding women’s rights and the treatment of women received special attention around the globe during International Women’s Day on March 8. To commemorate the occasion, Reuters photographer Joe Penney documented traditional headdresses worn by the women of Gao in Mali.

Radical Islamist group MUJAO (Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa) placed limitations on these headdresses during their nine-month reign, which ended in January with the arrival of French and Malian troops. The headdresses, made of beads, gemstones, fabric and fake hair and traditionally worn by elites for special occasions, were criticized by MUJAO, who said they were not Islamic enough.

: Balkissa Maiga, 17, wears a traditional Songhai headdress made by artisan Hally Bara in Gao, Mali, March 6, 2013. (Joe Penney/Reuters Photo)

: Hally Bara, an artisan, poses for a picture in front of traditional Songhai and Tuareg headdresses and jewelry she made at the store in her house in Gao, Mali, March 6, 2013. (Joe Penney/Reuters Photo)

: Balkissa Maiga, 17, wears a traditional Songhai headdress made by artisan Hally Bara in Gao, Mali, March 6, 2013. (Joe Penney/Reuters Photo)

: Hally Bara, an artisan, attaches a traditional Songhai headdress on Bijou Maiga at Bara’s residence in Gao, Mali, March 6, 2013. (Joe Penney/Reuters)

: Fady DIcko, 14, wears a traditional Tuareg headdress made by artisan Hally Bara in Gao, Mali, March 6, 2013. (Joe Penney/Reuters)

: Safiatou Maiga, 8, wears a traditional Songhai headdress made by artisan Hally Bara in Gao, Mali, March 6, 2013. (Joe Penney/Reuters)

: Madinatou Soumailou Toure, 15, wears a traditional Songhai headdress made by artisan Hally Bara in Gao, Mali, March 6 2013. (Joe Penney/Reuters)

: Fatoumata Toure, 15, wears a traditional Songhai headdress made by artisan Hally Bara in Gao, Mali, March 6, 2013. (Joe Penney/Reuters)

: Fatoumata Toure, 15, wears a traditional Songhai headdress made by artisan Hally Bara in Gao, Mali, March 6, 2013. (Joe Penney/Reuters)

: Madinatou Soumailou Toure, 15, types a phone number while wearing a traditional Songhai headdress made by artisan Hally Bara in Gao, Mali, March 6, 2013. (Joe Penney/Reuters)

: Fady DIcko, 14, wears a traditional Tuareg headdress made by artisan Hally Bara in Gao, Mali, March 6, 2013. (Joe Penney/Reuters)

: Aminata Toure, 10, wears a traditional Songhai headdress made by artisan Hally Bara in Gao, Mali, March 6, 2013. (Joe Penney/Reuters)

: Aminata Toure, 10, wears a traditional Songhai headdress made by artisan Hally Bara in Gao, Mali, March 6, 2013. (Joe Penney/Reuters)

: Fady Diarra, 25, wears a traditional Songhai beaded head wrap in Gao, Mali, March 6, 2013. (Joe Penney/Reuters)

: Nafissatou Toure, 7, wears a traditional Songhai headdress made by artisan Hally Bara in Gao, Mali, March 6, 2013. (Joe Penney/Reuters)Nafissatou Toure, 7, wears a traditional Songhai headdress made by artisan Hally Bara in Gao, Mali, March 6, 2013. (Joe Penney/Reuters)