Somalia pledges prosecution for female genital mutilation

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For the first time, Somalia is to mount a prosecution against female genital mutilation (FGM).

Attorney General Ahmed Ali Dahir made the announcement on Wednesday following the death of a 10-year-old girl, an adviser to the government said.

Ifrah Ahmed, who advises Somalia on gender issues, said the attorney general was sending a team of investigators to find out more about the death of the girl, Deeqa, who suffered severe bleeding after her mother took her to a traditional cutter.

The announcement was made at a conference on FGM attended by officials, religious leaders and journalists in Mogadishu.

“We are ready to take it to court,” the attorney general was quoted as saying on Twitter by the organizers.

Deeqa’s death has prompted campaigners to renew calls for Somalia to pass a law on FGM, which affects 98 percent of women in the east African country – the highest rate in the world, according to UN data.

Somalia has some of the highest rates of women who have undergone the centuries-old practice of female genital mutilation. /VCG Photo

“This is really a defining moment for Somalia,” Deputy Prime Minister Mahdi Mohamed Gulaid told the conference organizers in a video posted on Twitter on Thursday.

Somalia’s constitution prohibits FGM, but efforts to pass legislation to punish offenders have been stalled by parliamentarians afraid of losing votes.

Ahmed, whose charity the Ifrah Foundation campaigns to end FGM in Somalia, confirmed news of the attorney general’s announcement.

“He said they had opened the case in Mogadishu and that they would investigate and deal with the parents,” said Ahmed.

“He told the conference he would bring the family to justice.”

Global campaigners against FGM, which affects around 200 million girls and women worldwide, welcomed the news.

(Cover image: Somali woman Amran Mahamood, who has made a living by circumcising young girls for 15 years, looks into a piece of a mirror, February 19, 2014. /VCG Photo)

Source(s): Reuters