ASHLEY TWIGGS - Editorial, Documentary, Sports, & Event Photographer in Central Virginia 

Project: Gender Asylum

Ousmane Sow is from Guinea in West Africa. She came to the United States in 2005 with four children and lives in New York City.
Sow was granted Gender Asylum on the grounds that her two daughters, Mariama and Fatoumata would be subjected to Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), a circumcision right of passage, if they remained in Guinea.
When she was young, Ousmane was taken to a woman in her village and circumcised, along with other girls her age. Also a victim of domestic violence in Guinea, Sanctuary for Families, an organization that helps domestic violence vicitms live independently, has helped Sow and her family adjust to the United States.
Sow's story parallels numerous others who reside in the United States under Gender Asylum Legislation.

In this photo: Ousmane and Fatoumata stand in Ousmane's bedroom in their apartment in Manhattan. "This is where we do our hair," says Fatoumata.

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