On April 16th 2009, IRIN reported that village chiefs and community members in the Northern Kambia district of Sierra Leone signed an agreement to ban genital mutilation/cutting (FGM) for girls under 18.
The article states that according to the World Health Organization, 94% of Sierra Leonean girls are initiated into "Bondo", also known as a Sande Secret Society, that performs genital cutting as a rite of passage. Girls who have undergone FGM are reported to be more likely to become pregnant at an early age, which is the number one cause of school drop-outs among Sierra Leonean girls.
Activists working in the area, including Amnesty International in Bombali and Amazonian Initiative Movement (AIM), say that by increasing the age to 18, the new agreement gives girls a choice and will ultimately reduce the total number of genital cuttings performed.
To read the full article, click here.
Compiled from: Sierra Leone: Chiefs Ban Genital Cutting for Girls Under 18, IRIN, 16 April 2009.