In a shocking revelation, it has emerged that female genital mutilation (FGM) is still carried out in several parts of Kerala including Thiruvananthapuram, despite being labelled a criminal offence. Asianet Newsable had recently reported that FMG is performed in some hospitals in Kozhikode and Malappuram in the state, based on an investigation by…
It’s a hot and humid day, but the kids are buzzing. As they pile out of a coach bus at a secluded retreat center surrounded by trees and open fields, one girl spins in circles and says, “No FGM, no FGM!” So it’s definitely not your typical camp. Last Saturday,…
Female Genital Mutilation or Cutting (FGM/C) can be defined as ‘all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injuries to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons,’ explains the World Health Organisation. Approximately 7.9 million women and girls in Tanzania have undergone FGM, with…
Janet has hard, suspicious eyes that suddenly break into soft smiles. At 14, she is already enjoying her second life, telling us about it with the pride of someone who has fought hard to write her own destiny. “My parents had arranged a marriage for me with a 50-year-old man,”…
A group of Kenyan girls are trying to combat the traditional practice of female genital mutilation with an app. They’ve nicknamed themselves “The Restorers.” Female genital mutilation — or FGM — often occurs as a way to prepare girls for marriage. Because of this, the practice can cause them to drop out…
AT THE AGE of 12, Mamie Drammeh’s genitals were cut. Then she was forced to marry a 30-year-old man. The young Gambian woman eventually escaped the marriage, but she was soon forced into another relationship with an older man who promised to pay for her education in exchange for sex. Drammeh…
A brief refresher. Earlier this year, Federal authorities broke up an FGM network in the United States that had mutilated unknown numbers of young girls. The FGM network was linked to the Muslim sect of the Dawoodi Bohra. Now a Canadian survey shows that a disturbingly high percentage of Muslim Dawoodi Bohra women have undergone…
Women from a small sect of Ismaili Muslims called the Dawoodi Bohras have reported that female genital mutilation has been performed on them in Canada, a study given to the federal government reveals. The first research of its kind to probe the practice within this tightly knit South Asian community,…
When it comes to female genital cutting, headlines provoke and call out for concern. One headline called it the “curse of blades and powders,” while another warned that school holidays were a “cutting season.” This month a team of Kenyan teenagers have received a lot of media attention for creating a mobile…
The group which has been fighting for a ban on female genital mutilation (FGM) or female genital cutting (FGC) has said that it is disappointed with the central government not issuing any advisory on the issue. A section of women belonging to the Dawoodi Bohra community had approached the central…