Luz Betsaida Orozco Pineda and her new born baby at their home in Juchitán, Mexico on February 17, 2016. Now 14, Luz became pregnant when she was 13 after being “stolen” according to the Zapotec Indigenous tradition. Considered a traditional kind of marriage – Luz is too young to wed legally – the custom dictates that the couple go to the young man’s house and announce their plans to marry. While the family waits, the couple go to a room together; he emerges later with a blood-stained handkerchief to prove his bride’s virginity. Luz, who started going out with the father of her baby when she was 10, lives with her in-laws in the 6 de noviembre neighbourhood on the outskirts of Juchitán in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca. Her baby was born on January 13, 2016. Despite following tradition, she speaks little Zapotec – the language of her husband and his family – she follows tradition, wearing a headscarf to protect her health as she is still observing the 40-days quarantine period after giving birth, during which she stays in the house. While Mexico has outlawed marriage under the age of 18, many young girls become unofficial wives and mothers much earlier. In Juchitán, teenage pregnancy is expected, even prized. Mexico ranks first in teenage pregnancies among the member countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Photo by Bénédicte Desrus