Female Genital Mutilation
latest news & developments
Fatoumata Diawara channels ancestry and activism in Cape Town
Blending Malian heritage with high-energy pop, Fatoumata Diawara used the CTIJF stage to honour her roots and confront FGM, proving that heritage and modern activism are…
In the time of aid cuts, decentralise women’s health funding
Women and young people don’t need foreign experts to tell them what their communities need; they need resources and support to implement locally developed and relevant solutions
Report finds female genital mutilation more prevalent than previously thought
At least 66% of recent cases were performed by healthcare professionals, in an attempt to legitimise the practice
Egypt clinic helps women reclaim bodies scarred by genital mutilation
Plasma injections allow for the regeneration of damaged tissue without subjecting women to new, invasive procedures
Tanzania’s first female doctor sees big strides
Esther Mwaikambo will be a role model to young female doctors, as she begins writing books on child health and women’s roles in medicine
Meet a Kenyan heroine of health: ‘I want to be an ambassador for the voiceless’
Jane Kubai ran away from home to avoid FGM. She then worked day and night to obtain a qualification. Now, her father advises other families against child marriage
Facts and figures: Global domestic violence numbers
“Every day, on average, 137 women are killed by a member of their own family,” said Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, UN Under-Secretary-General and UN Women Executive Director, in a…
A dictator’s unexpected legacy
Having banned female genital cutting, his ousting may have been good for democracy but bad for women’s bodies.
When police crashed her wedding, she was 8. Her soon-to-be husband was 67.
Across the continent, women are helping to reimagine a sacred rite of passage in an effort to honour their cultures and spare their bodies.
Schoolgirls in this country face compulsory tests for pregnancy, genital mutilation
Girls in Kenya’s Narok County will also be made to reveal the identities of babies’ fathers.
Uncut, unwed and cast out, but a better life awaited
In rural Kenya, a group of strong-willed women is giving traumatised young runaways a second chance at life.
Flame on an open wound: female genital mutilation in Somaliland
Female genital mutilation is still practiced in Somaliland. But women’s coalitions are working to change this.
Ghana’s formidable ‘queen mothers’ rise up
Women chiefs are playing an increasingly important role in the country’s development, advocating for women’s and children’s rights.
Art takes the cake
An African rights body has called on a Swedish minister to resign over her role in an art event that highlighted female genital mutilation and racism.
Circumcisions haunt Kenya’s Maasai females
Some of the Kenya’s Maasai young women are running away from of the age-old custom of circumcision, now frayed by health risks and new laws.