Published on 09.02.2023 at 17:18 by APA
Approximately 31.8% of Liberian women and girls are victims of female circumcision. Traditional leaders in Liberia have announced a ban on female genital mutilation (FGM), a practice deemed harmful to women and girls.
Chief Zanzan Karwor, chairman of the National Council of Chiefs and Elders, made the statement on the occasion of the International Day of Zero Tolerance for FGM celebrated last February 6 in Songay, APA learned on Thursday in Monrovia.
“By virtue of the power conferred on me by all the paramount chiefs of the 15 political divisions of Liberia and signed by myself, FGM is prohibited in Liberia”, Chief Karwor said in remarks reported by concordant sources .
He explained that the elaborate ceremonies and rituals that preceded the celebration of Zero Tolerance Day took place in order to gain permission from the zoes (the traditional excisers who practice FGM), elders and chiefs to ban this practice throughout the country.
This decision was taken during an event organized in the city of Songay in the presence of senior officials including the Vice-President, Jewel Howard-Taylor, the Minister of Gender Equality, Children and Social Welfare , Williametta E. Saydee-Tarr, UN Women Regional Goodwill Ambassador for Africa, Jaha Dukureh, and members of the diplomatic corps representing the European Union, the United States, Sweden, Norway, Cuba and Nigeria.
Also present was the representative of UN Women in Liberia, who supported the establishment of heritage centers (notably in the town of Songay where the celebrations were held) to serve as an alternative place of livelihood for zoes who abandon this convenient.
“Traditional leaders paved the way for us to take the first step towards ending female genital mutilation in Liberia. We are very honored and thank them,” Howard-Taylor, Vice President of Liberia, said in thanks.
Female genital mutilation is widely considered to be a harmful traditional practice involving the partial or total removal of the female external genitalia or any other damage to the female genitalia for non-medical reasons.
Research has shown that this practice can cause health problems for victims.
According to figures released by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in February 2020, at least 200 million women and girls have undergone FGM in 31 countries around the world.
These statistics relate only to states for which data are available from large-scale representative surveys, including 27 countries in Africa as well as Iraq, Yemen, the Maldives and Indonesia.
Along with Somalia, Mali and Sierra Leone, Liberia is one of four countries in Africa that have not yet specifically criminalized FGM.
