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Wearing tradition – thanaka paste in a Rohingya camp

Thanaka, a paste that has been used for centuries to protect skin from the sun, is traditionally applied in swirls to the cheeks of Rohingya Muslim women. Itʹs a custom female refugees in Bangladesh are keen to preserve. By Clodagh Kilcoyne

A Rohingya refugee girl named Rufia Begum, aged 9, poses for a photograph as she wears thanaka paste at Balukhali camp in Cox's Bazaar, Bangladesh, 31 March 2018 (photo: Reuters/Clodagh Kilcoyne))

Rufia Begum, aged 9, is among more than 700,000 Rohingya who have taken shelter in the Cox's Bazar district of Bangladesh after fleeing a military crackdown in Myanmar last year, the United Nations and human rights groups say

A Rohingya refugee woman named Laila Begum, aged 23, poses for a photograph as she wears thanaka paste at Balukhali camp in Cox's Bazaar, Bangladesh, 31 March 2018 (photo: Reuters/Clodagh Kilcoyne)

A Rohingya refugee woman named Laila Begum, aged 23, poses for a photograph as she wears thanaka paste at Balukhali camp in Cox's Bazaar, Bangladesh, 31 March 2018

A Rohingya refugee girl named Zinu Ara, aged 4, poses for a photograph as she wears thanaka paste at Balukhali camp in Cox's Bazaar, Bangladesh, 31 March 2018 (photo: Reuters/Clodagh Kilcoyne)

Thanaka is produced from the bark of a tree found in the dry central parts of Myanmar. A flat stone called a "kyauk pyin" is used to grind the bark into a milky yellow paste

A Rohingya refugee girl named Juhara Begum, aged 13, poses for a photograph as she wears thanaka paste at Jamtoli camp in Cox's Bazaar, Bangladesh, 1 April 2018 (photo: Reuters(Clodagh Kilcoyne)

"The make-up is my hobby and it's our tradition – I can live without eating rice, but I cannot live without makeup," says Juhara Begum, 13, who arrived in Cox's Bazar in September last year. Wearing the protective paste on her face, she adds: "I live on top of the hill and it is too hot with the strong sun"

A Rohingya refugee girl named Amina poses for a photograph as she wears thanaka paste at Kutupalong camp in Cox's Bazaar, Bangladesh, 30 March 2018 (photo: Reuters/Clodagh Kilcoyne)

Rohingya women believe the use of the paste keeps their skin smooth and cool, safe from exposure to the sun, while also fending off acne

A Rohingya refugee girl named Sakila Begum, aged 15, poses for a photograph as she wears thanaka paste at Jamtoli camp in Cox's Bazaar, Bangladesh, 1 April 2018 (photo: Reuters/Clodagh Kilcoyne)

The paste is applied to the face in various patterns and dries into a protective layer. While it is used medicinally elsewhere in Asia, women in Myanmar also use it as a cosmetic

A Rohingya refugee girl named Senuara Begum, aged 14, poses for a photograph as she wears thanaka paste at Jamtoli camp in Cox's Bazaar, Bangladesh, 1 April 2018 (photo: Reuters/Clodagh Kilcoyne)

A Rohingya refugee girl named Senuara Begum, aged 14, poses for a photograph as she wears thanaka paste at Jamtoli camp in Cox's Bazaar, Bangladesh, 1 April 2018. "I like the makeup," says Senuara

A Rohingya refugee girl named Zannat Ara, aged 10, poses for a photograph as she wears thanaka paste at Balukhali camp in Cox's Bazaar, Bangladesh, 30 March 2018 (photo: Reuters/Clodagh Kilcoyne)

Rohingya girls and women use traditional methods to make the paste from thanaka tree bark which is sold in the camps

A Rohingya refugee girl named Zannat Ara, aged 9, poses for a photograph as she wears thanaka paste at Kutupalong camp in Cox's Bazaar, Bangladesh, 2 April 2018. (photo: Reuters/Clodagh Kilcoyne)

Zannat Ara, a nine-year-old Rohingya girl, said the paste protected her against the swarms of insects in the Kutupalong refugee camp where she now lives. "I wear make-up to keep my face clean, but also because there are some insects that bite my face. This keeps them away"

A Rohingya refugee girl named Razina Begum, aged 16, poses for a photograph as she wears thanaka paste at Jamtoli camp in Cox's Bazaar, Bangladesh, April 1, 2018. "I use the make up to make my face clean and fresh. I wear it everyday," said Razina (photo: Reuters/Clodagh Kilcoyne)

Razina Begum, aged 16, poses for a photograph as she wears thanaka paste at Jamtoli camp in Cox's Bazaar, Bangladesh, 1 April 2018. "I use the make up to keep my face clean and fresh. I wear it everyday," she says

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