I do respect other people's culture. And I am aware that it is difficult to fully understand another culture. And when I was reading an article of IRIN, the humanitarian news and analysis service of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, I did realize that even in my own country it will take me time to understand why some practices are still going on. Below I share the article I pray the Women's right's activits succeed with the petition:
UGANDA: Women petition court to outlaw FGM
Women's rights activists in Uganda have petitioned the Constitutional Court demanding that female genital mutilation (FGM), practised by several communities in the east of the country, be declared illegal. "We are seeking a court declaration that the practice is unconstitutional; it is cruel, inhuman and degrading," said Dora Byamukama, a member of the East Africa Legislative Assembly and one of the campaigners against FGM in Uganda. The activists, who have formed a group known as Law and Advocacy for Women in Uganda, earlier in April succeeded in having the Constitutional Court abrogate the country's law on adultery on the grounds that it made marital infidelity an offence only when committed by women while seemingly condoning it when men were involved. FGM involves the cutting and/or removal of the clitoris and other vaginal tissue, often under unsanitary conditions. It is practised in at least 28 countries globally. The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) estimates that up to 140 million girls and women around the world have undergone some form of FGM.
Full report IRIN 4/05/07
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