female genital mutilation - The African Mirror

Feb

2021

COVID-19 creates ‘fertile ground’ for genital cutting in Africa

WHEN Margaret heard the family making plans for her genital cutting ceremony last August, the 15-year-old Kenyan schoolgirl knew there was no room for negotiation. Her school in rural, western Kenya had been closed for five months due to the pandemic, and with no certainty when classes would resume, Margaret's parents decided she should wed. "They wanted me to be cut so I could be married and they would get dowry," Margaret told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone from a temporary foster home in West Pokot county, which borders Uganda. "They didn't listen when I told them I wanted…

Jan

2021

By The African Mirror

Egypt’s cabinet toughens law banning female genital mutilation

NEWS

MENNA A FAROUK EGYPT’S cabinet has toughened a law banning female genital mutilation (FGM) - imposing jail terms of up to 20 years as part of efforts to stamp out the ancient practice. Nearly 90% of Egyptian women and girls aged between 15 and 49 have undergone FGM, according to a 2016 survey by the U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF), and the ritual is practised widely by both Muslims and Christians despite the 2008 ban. Amendments to the FGM law approved by the cabinet on Wednesday include hiking the maximum sentence from the current seven years and banning doctors and other…

Dec

2020

By The African Mirror

OPINION: Somali women’s inclusion in politics is long overdue

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

HODAN S. ISSE and SAGAL B.H. MUSA THERE is little doubt that women in Somalia have played a significant role in keeping the country afloat through decades of conflict and disaster. They are productive contributors to the economy through their petty trades and small businesses. They are often the sole providers for their families, peace builders in communities and caretakers of both the youth and the elderly. And yet while they have played a prominent role in revitalizing the economy and bringing a sense of stability in their communities, they have also paid a heavy price. Many have been forced…

Nov

2020

By The African Mirror

In new UN role, ex-CNN journalist seeks to end abuse of women and girls

HUMAN RIGHTS

ELLEN WULFHORST FORMER CNN correspondent Isha Sesay planned to begin her new role as a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) with a visit to Nigeria and Haiti - cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. Instead, the British journalist and author listened remotely to stories from women and girls, from midwives to abuse survivors, in Yemen, Ukraine, Somalia and Sierra Leone. "We did a global virtual tour," she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation this week from her home in Los Angeles. "It's not the same as being there and sitting side by side but .... it will…

Aug

2020

By The African Mirror

Sudan’s political change gives hope for young women and girls. Here’s why

HEALTH

TAMSIN BRADLEY, Professor of International Development Studies, University of Portsmouth Sudan’s transitional government recently announced a nationwide ban on female genital mutilation. A 2014 survey backed by the United Nations estimated 87% of Sudanese women and girls between the ages of 15 and 49 had been subjected to the practice. Most undergo an extreme form known as infibulation. Tamsin Bradley sets out the context in which the ban was announced and the prospects for change under the reformist government. How widespread is female genital mutilation in Sudan? Female genital mutilation, or cutting, is widespread in Sudan. The practice is also…