Cote d'Ivoire: Fighting FGM from the Mosque and the Pulpit

12 December 2009

Abidjan — In certain parts of Africa, female genital mutilation (FGM) has been linked to religion, with Muslim communities mistakenly believing that the practice is a religious requirement. But in Côte d'Ivoire, religion is also being put at the service of fighting FGM.

El Hadj Kassoum Traoré, an imam at a small mosque in Belleville - one of the poorer areas in the commercial hub of Abidjan - sets aside time during the Friday prayer for explaining the dangers of FGM to worshippers. The weekly prayer is an obligation for able Muslim men.

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