Grahis Blog

HISTORY The history of FGM is not well known but the practice dated back at least 2000 years. It is not known when or where the tradition of Female Genital Mutilation originated from. It was believed that it was practiced in ancient Egypt as a sign of distinction amongst the aristocracy. Some believe it started during the slave trade when black slave women entered ancient Arab societies. Some believe FGM began with the arrival of Islam in some parts of sub-Saharan Africa. Some believe the practice developed independently among certain ethnic groups in sub-Saharan Africa as part of puberty rites. Overall, in the history, it was believed that FGM would ensure women’s virginity and reduction in the female desire. FGM is the collective term for a range of procedures involving partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for cultural or other non-therapeutic reasons, there are various forms. TYPES OF FGM Type 1: Exci...

“I’ve never experienced happiness in my marriage. I’ve never seen the benefit of being married,” Antina told me when I interviewed her in a small village in rural Malawi. Antina was just 12-years-old when she married a 17-year-old boy to escape poverty at home. Like many girls I have interviewed in South Sudan, Tanzania, and Malawi about their marriages, she was hoping for a life of love and prosperity, but instead endured poverty and violence at the hands of her husband. In sub-Saharan Africa, about one in four girls marry before age 18. Statistics show that African nations account for 17 of the 20 countries with the highest rates of child marriage globally. For example, according to new UNICEF data, 76 percent of girls in Niger and close to 70 percent of girls in Central African Republic and Chad marry before they turn 18. In Malawi, one in every two girls marry before age 18. It’s encouraging that African leaders have put child marriage high on their agenda. This week, at the...