Thomson Reuters Foundation: Somalia urged to pass law banning ‘horrendous’ FGM
“Somalia’s next government should ensure a law is passed banning all forms of female genital mutilation (FGM), a U.N. official said on Tuesday, describing the deeply entrenched practice as a ‘horrendous rights violation.’ … A bill on FGM is sitting in parliament but is unlikely to be debated until next year because of elections expected this month in the Horn of Africa country. Jeremy Hopkins, deputy representative for UNICEF in Somalia, said the U.N. children’s agency was optimistic a law would eventually go through, but the details in it would be crucial…” (Batha, 8/2).