25% of Kenyan women and girls have undergone Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), the barbaric practice of totally or partially removing the external genitalia. This practice still subsists even though it has been declared illegal in Kenya.
Five Kenyan girls, Stacy Owino, Cynthia Otieno, Purity Achieng, Macrine Atieno & Ivy Akinyi, who have friends that have been victims of FGM, developed an application that aims to end the practice.
The app, I-Cut, provides assistance to girls at risk of FGM by connecting them to rescue centers. It also helps get legal and medical help to those who have already been cut.The app has five buttons – help, rescue, report, information on FGM, donate and feedback – offering users different services.
As recognition for their innovation, the five girls, aged 15 to 17, are the only Africans selected to take part in the 2017 Google Technovation. Technovation, an event sponsored by Google, Verizon and the United Nations, aims to teach girls the skills they need to become tech entrepreneurs and leaders.
We can’t think of people who are more deserving than these five.
Originally posted on Konbini:
Five Kenyan Girls Developed An App To Help Girls At Risk Of Female Genital Mutilation