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ActionAid works in in communities around the world to put an end to FGM. Learn about the psychological, physical and emotional effects that female genital mutilation has on women and girls.
ActionAid works in nine countries across Africa to end female genital mutilation (FGM). We support girls affected and help communities learn about FGM's harmful effects.
Getting married at a young age isn’t something that most women or girls choose to do in the UK, but the fact of the matter is that we have a choice. Whereas in West Pokot, a rural area of Kenya I visited recently, a girl’s point of view doesn’t come into it.
I live in Kitale, in the eastern part of Kenya and I’ve been working for ActionAid since 2005. I was born and belong to this community, but unlike the majority of girls as I was growing up, I was lucky. Instead of being forced to have female genital mutilation (FGM) and enter into early marriage, my parents gave me an education.
“I often think of suicide”. This is the final line from a young girl whose story was sent to me this week. This girl is 16 years old and from Ghana. She was forced to undergo female genital mutilation as a small child and was told that having her genitals mutilated would make her attractive to potential husbands and ensure she was faithful to him.
Look at this photo of smiling girls. They are all nine years old. They live in Ethiopia, and thanks to an ActionAid project they are at school rather than being forced to drop out to get married.