SEVENTY-five women in northern Benin who make a living from carrying out female circumcision have publicly announced that they are giving up the practice, an official said on Tuesday. The source said the mainly elderly women had made the announcement at a ceremony over the weekend during which they handed in more than 100 knives. They were prompted to renounce the practice – which is also referred to as female genital mutilation – by an awareness campaign carried out by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) who had proposed alternative ways of making money. The NGOs say at least 1 000 girls are circumcised in Benin every year, and the practice is most widespread in the north where a practitioner can charge between 1 500 and 3 000 CFA francs (two and four dollars) for each operation. – AFP