Sudan has become the latest country in Africa to make female genital mutilation (FGM) a criminal act.
Offenders would be jailed for up to three years, per the newly amended law of the country.
The new law was passed on April 22 as authorities hope the move will deal with the prevalence rate of the act in the country.
FGM involves the cutting or removal of a female’s external genitalia, often the cutting of the labia and clitoris.
According to the United Nations Population Fund, the procedure is still practised in over 27 African countries.
Countries where the act is outlawed are Kenya, Mauritania, Mali, Liberia, Benin, Burkina Faso and Central African Republic.
Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Niger and Nigeria have also outlawed the procedure.
Despite these countries all prohibiting the act, they have struggled to completely eliminate it as the procedure continues in hiding.
Female genital mutilation has significant physical and psychological impact on victims.
The impact on women is devastating and correcting the effect is impossible in many instances.
23-year old Emma Theofilus is Southern Africa’s youngest minister
Source: Africafeeds.com
