Female Genital Mutilation Grips Somalia
February 4, 2007
MOGADISHU, Somalia - Living in a war zone is one thing. Living under the constant fear of the knife is another matter all together. You have to hear the first-hand accounts of the victims to even begin to understand their plight. Even then, you never completely appreciate the level of trauma they experience.
Somalia has the dubious distinction of being the one place in the world where women undergo the most barbaric form of mutilation. The practice is called Female Genital Mutilation , often referred to as "female circumcision." The procedure is extremely graphic so I'll leave it to the experts at the World Health Organization to explain FGM. There are different types of female genital mutilation. The Somalis practice the most extreme form.
While on assignment near the Kenya - Somali border, CBN News Producer Sarah Pollak and I met several Somali women who've undergone the procedure. Their testimonies are riveting.
Pollak interviewed an elderly lady who claimed to have 'cut' more than 250 girls. The good news is that there's a grassroots movement to stop FGM. It's an uphill battle though. Those involved in the fight often face physical and verbal abuse from the community.
Our story looks at this horrific practice through the eyes of a Somali Muslim cleric who is fighting religious and cultural traditions to end FGM. He has a personal stake in the outcome. He has three daughters who are not circumcised.
Stay tuned for more on this story.
A footnote: A Kenyan couple living in the US has just won a reprieve after a court halted their deportation temporarily. The couple who entered the US on a tourist visa in 1999, has been fighting to stop their deportation, claiming that she will be forcibly circumcised if she returns home. The story was front page news in one of Kenya's national newspapers this morning.
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