MONROVIA—The non-profit organization Advocacy Against Female Genital Mutilation (AAFGM) has called for the abolishment of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in Liberia. Heckey Walley, Executive Director of AAFGM, emphasized the dangers of FGM, stating, “FGM is a dangerous practice that deprives girls of their value. It should not be practiced in any part of Liberia. It affects women’s health and disrupts girls’ education. Families and traditional leaders must stop taking our young people to the bush for this harmful practice. This must stop!”
Walley and his team marched through the streets and communities of New Georgia Estate, a suburb of Monrovia, with banners and posters inscribed with anti-FGM messages. One of the posters read: “No health benefits, just harm. Stop Female Genital Mutilation.” Another stated: “Female Genital Mutilation violates children’s rights. Please stop it!”
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) refers to the practice of intentionally altering or injuring the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. It is recognized internationally as a human rights violation with severe health consequences, both immediate and long-term, including pain, infections, complications in childbirth, and increased risk of newborn deaths. FGM is often carried out for cultural, religious, or social reasons within families and communities, under the belief that it ensures premarital virginity and marital fidelity.
Despite the suspension of the practice of FGM in Liberia, it still persists. Although Liberia is a party to several international and regional human rights conventions and protocols calling for the protection of women and girls from FGM, such as the Maputo Protocol, which in Article 5 explicitly calls on State Parties to ban all forms of FGM through legislative measures, which Liberia ratified in 2008, the country does not have a law prohibiting FGM for all ages.
Activists like Walley and his team are calling on Liberia to adhere to its international and regional commitments regarding the elimination of harmful practices (including FGM), respect for sexual and reproductive health rights, and the promotion and protection of the rights of women and girls. They are advocating for the enactment of a law banning the practice to safeguard the rights of women and girls to live free from FGM.
