Women revive ancient allure of waist beads

Wearing a brightly-colored wraparound dress, Sonia ambles through the crowds at a market in a popular neighborhood of Lome, a string of tiny red beads dangling from her hips.

"I'm very comfortable wearing waist beads. But it is also a way of attracting men," says the 24-year-old hairdresser, a coy smile playing on her lips.

In the Togo capital, the fashion for wearing strings of beads around the waist - an ancient tradition known as 'djonou' in the Gulf of Guinea region - has made a comeback in recent years.