Kenya bans female genital mutilation
Tuesday, 20 September 2011 20:14
Kenya has become the latest African country to ban female genital mutilation (girls' circumcision), with the passing of a law making it illegal to practise or procure it or take somebody abroad for cutting.
The law even prohibits derogatory remarks about women who have not undergone FGM. Offenders may be jailed or fined, or both.
FGM is a traditional practice that may cause severe physical, psychological and sexual problems for the victims, who are usually circumcized at a young age. Nobody imagines this means FGM will never take place again in Kenya, but making it illegal is a massive step towards changing attitudes and giving strength to those who oppose the practice. In nine countries (including some of those where it is illegal) FGM is still widely practised. In Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Guinea, Mali, Sierra Leone, Somalia and Sudan, 85% of women undergo mutilation.
A report released by an indepented task force in the US confirms that the interrogation and treatment of many detainees in US custody since 9/11 amounted to torture.
Since December 2012, over 20 health workers involved in a polio vaccination campaign have been killed in Pakistan, presumably by the Taliban.
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