Somalians campaign for their children to not suffer FGM
Story published by Evening Standard, UK
The poster over the main street in Boroma, Somaliland, has a simple warning emblazoned on it in bold print.
“FGM increases risk of complications during childbirth,” it tells passers-by, reinforcing the message with “Hands off!” and “Stop Female Genital Mutilation!”
Similar billboards, written in Somali, are outside the university and elsewhere in the centre of the busy town, close to the Ethiopian border. Their prominent location reflects the increasing intensity of a campaign to stop mutilation, after centuries in which the practice has been a central feature of cultural and religious beliefs.
Such beliefs mean FGM remains almost universal in Somaliland, with official estimates indicating that 98 per cent of women have had their genitals cut and sometimes sewn up as well...Read more...