Thomson Reuters Foundation: Doctors must immediately stop mutilating girls
Natalia Kanem, executive director of the United Nations Population Fund

“…[Female genital mutilation (FGM)] not only poses tremendous health risks for those subjected to it, it also violates their human rights. … Liberia’s executive order [that included a one-year ban on FGM] is an important step towards protecting the health and rights of the country’s girls. Yet, such actions alone are insufficient to end female genital mutilation. This harmful practice will only disappear when communities themselves see the value in abandoning it. … On this International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation, I call on governments, the medical community, educational and religious institutions, as well as aid agencies to backstop the thousands of communities uniting to change social norms and end this practice. I also call on men and boys to be a bigger part of the solution. Each of us has an urgent role to play in the march forward. Together, we can realize a world where no girl is subjected to female genital mutilation and where every girl is valued and enjoys her right to a safe and healthy transition through adolescence into adulthood” (2/6).