Algeria’s tattoos of beauty
Fatma Badredine, 94, was tattooed aged 13 years old by a nomadic woman from the Sahara region. "I had to endure excruciating pain just to look pretty,” Badredine said. "I wanted to have the tattoo removed but my doctor advised against it, my age doesn’t allow it.”
Fatma Badredine, 94, was tattooed aged 13 years old by a nomadic woman from the Sahara region. "I had to endure excruciating pain just to look pretty,” Badredine said. "I wanted to have the tattoo removed but my doctor advised against it, my age doesn’t allow it.”

Among the Chaouia people of the Aures mountains in Algeria, a woman’s beauty used to be judged by her tattoos. The women are now old, their wrinkles and fading tattoos telling of a lifetime of experience, but they talk as if they’re still 20 inside. The photos are from Reuters.

3.Mazouza Bouglada, 86, was tattooed aged 7 by a nomadic man from the Sahara region. She was advised by her mother to get tattooed. The more she got tattooed the more she showed off.
Mazouza Bouglada, 86, was tattooed aged 7 by a nomadic man from the Sahara region. She was advised by her mother to get tattooed. The more she got tattooed the more she showed off.
"It was the rule, it was fashionable too,” said Fatma Tarnouni, 106. “To be beautiful, you had to be tattooed, so I did it."
“It was the rule, it was fashionable too,” said Fatma Tarnouni, 106. “To be beautiful, you had to be tattooed, so I did it.”
SHARE THIS ARTICLE :
Facebook
Twitter
WhatsApp
All our printed editions are available online
emblem3
Subscribe to the Guyana Chronicle.
Sign up to receive news and updates.
We respect your privacy.