At least 200 million girls and women alive today in 30 countries worldwide have been subjected to FGM. It’s time to end the outdated attitudes that allow this harmful practice to continue. In Sierra Leone, the prevalence rate of 86% shows that a huge percentage of women and girls have undergone this practice.
FGM is prevalent in Sierra Leone due to Bondo society, an all-female secret society governing a girl’s rites of passage into womanhood, including this harmful ritual. Aside from the health implications it has on women and girls, FGM is gender-based violence, steals girls’ futures, extends poverty, FGM can force girls out of school and it leads to child marriage and teenage pregnancy. We are actively working with parents, children, stakeholders and communities to reduce this harmful practice in the country.