(The UN and WHO are attempting to decrease the incidence of FGM, but it is still common in many countries. It still happens to 90% of women in Sierra Leone. There are reasons other than “custom” that make the practice difficult to eliminate…. kg)
When the president’s wife sponsors the circumcision of 1,500 young girls to win votes for her husband, you know you’ve got a problem persuading ordinary people and the government that female genital mutilation (FGM) is a bad idea.
And when the woman who is now Minister of Social Welfare, Gender and Women’s Affairs, threatens to “sew up the mouths” of those who preach against FGM, you realise that you are facing a really big uphill struggle.
United Nations – OCHA IRIN | Web Special | Razor’s Edge – The Controversy of Female Genital Mutilation
