Africa: Senegal Leading the Fight to End FGM in Africa

When a cluster of villages in Senegal publicly announced their decision to end the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) in 2008, many thought it was just a theoretical gesture. Today, the country stands as an example of how to eradicate genital cutting, writes Patrick Egwu.

In 2008, to the admiration of global health observers, more than 5 000 communities in Senegal publicly declared that they were abandoning female genital mutilation (FGM), an age-old practice in that West African country. Since then, awareness has grown and a critical mass has been building, spreading through the very ties of family and ethnicity that used to entrench it. Thousands of villages have joined the movement, including more than 2,000 communities last year. In many ethnic groups across the continent, the practice, once seen as an immutable part of a girl's life, is ebbing, though nowhere at the pace or with the organised drive found in Senegal.

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