TORONTO — Sudan’s new government has outlawed the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM). This change is a move that women’s rights activists around the world have been working towards for decades globally. These new laws are especially important in Sudan, where the dangerous FGM procedures are often carried out.
Data from the United Nations (UN) estimates that approximately 90% of Sudanese women have been subjected to FGM. Most Sudanese women undergo what the World Health Organization (WHO) calls Type III circumcision. During this form of the practice the inner and outer labia, and usually the clitoris, are removed. The wound is then usually sewn closed in a practice known as reinfibulation. This often causes cysts, leads to painful sex, and prevent orgasm. The removal of these organs can also lead to infection and complications that can be disabling or even fatal.
Genital mutilation is practiced in at least 27 different countries in Africa. It’s also practiced culturally in parts of Asia and the Middle East. Other than Sudan and, it is most prevalent in Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Djibouti, and Senegal, according to the United Nations Population Fund. According to the WHO, in at least eight countries in the world, 80% of women have been subjected to FGM. Additionally, 200 million women and girls around the world are estimated to be survivors of FGM, with an additional three million girls at risk of undergoing the procedure this year.
“The law will help protect girls from this barbaric practice and enable them to live in dignity,” said Salma Ismail, a spokeswoman in Khartoum for the United Nations. “And it will help mothers who didn’t want to cut their girls, but felt they had no choice, to say ‘no.’.”
The amendment to Sudan’s criminal code was approved last week. Under the new laws, anyone in Sudan who performs FGM will face a possible three-year prison term and a fine.
Nimco Ali of the Five Foundation, an organization that fights to end FGM worldwide says that this is a huge step for both Sudan and it’s a new government. “Africa cannot prosper unless it takes care of girls and women.”
Experts are concerned that new laws won’t be enough to end FGM in Sudan. FGM is often tied together with purity and chastity as components of martial traditions. The practice is not frowned upon by all women either.
There are organizations working to combat this type of abuse. City of Joy is a safe haven for women fleeing FGM and other types of abuse in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Co-founded by Eve Ensler, Christine Schuler Deshryver, and Dr. Denis Mukwege, the center offers amenities, shelter, healthcare services, therapy and other services for women looking to heal their abuse. Since opening in 2011, the shelter has helped more than 1,300 women.
Written By: DC Banfield
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