An anti-female genital mutilation (FGM) campaigner has urged men to play a more prominent role in tackling the issue.
According to Edna Adan, former foreign minister of Somaliland, males have often taken the “easy way out” and dismissed FGM as a “woman’s affair”, the Evening Standard reports.
She has therefore called on men to change their attitudes in order to help eradicate the practice. “The men are my target because these girls have a mother and a father,” Ms Adan commented. “You can put your foot down if you are the head of the family.”
Ms Adan went on to note that attitudes towards FGM are changing around the world and countries are increasingly taking steps to clamp down on the procedure. According to the World Health Organization, FGM offers no medical benefits to girls and women and can make victims vulnerable to a number of health issues later on, such as infection and infertility.
The body also believes people who have undergone the procedure are particularly likely to experience complications when giving birth.
Source: http://www.figo.org/news/men-can-play-big-part-tackling-fgm-0012093
Tags: FGM, halo project, honour based violence, victims
