The UN hopes to end the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) by the end of the decade. But is Africa actually advancing toward zero tolerance against this violation, which affects an estimated 200 million females globally?
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00:00 Female genital mutilation, FGM, is traumatic and can be deadly.
00:05 It amounts to blatant violation of the human rights of girls and women
00:09 and has officially been condemned by the United Nations since 2012.
00:14 According to the UN, millions of girls in Africa still remain at risk of FGM.
00:20 Laws across the continent prohibiting this practice
00:24 are inadequately enforced across multiple cultures in Africa.
00:28 In Uganda and Kenya, however, there has been solid progress towards eradicating FGM.
00:34 The two East African nations have undergone a significant reduction in FGM cases over the years.
00:41 In total, more than 20 African nations have banned FGM.
00:45 However, the laws are often inadequate and rarely enforced,
00:49 and there are still places where there is discrimination against uncut girls.
00:54 Of great concern in Africa are Chad, Liberia, Mali, Sierra Leone, Somalia and Sudan,
01:01 home to 16 million girls.
01:03 These nations still lack laws criminalizing FGM, allowing its practice to continue legally.
01:12 This shortcoming underscores the growing urgency to strengthen laws
01:16 banning FGM, emphasized by the campaigners across Africa.
01:20 Many stress that legislation alone is insufficient without proper enforcement,
01:25 coupled with proactive initiatives to change cultural norms and attitudes.