17 Dec 2019 - NPWJ News Digest on FGM and Women's Rights

Articles

Sierra Leone: Regional court ruling gives hope to thousands of pregnant girls banned from school
Amnesty International , 12 Dec 2019

 Responding to news that the regional Economic Community of West African States’ (ECOWAS) Community Court of Justice has today rejected a ban imposed by Sierra Leone’s government preventing pregnant girls from sitting exams and attending mainstream school, Marta Colomer, Amnesty International West and Central Africa Acting Deputy Director Campaigns said: “Today’s ruling is a landmark moment for the thousands of girls who have been excluded from school, and whose right to access education without discrimination has been violated for the past four years because of this inherently discriminatory ban.

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Fighting FGM in Senegal
AlJazeera, 10 Dec 2019

Fatou Mandiang Diatta, also known as Sister Fa, is an award-winning Senegalese urban soul and hip-hop star who uses her music to campaign for human rights and for an end to female genital mutilation (FGM). She herself is a survivor of the painful, dangerous practice. Nearly a quarter of women aged 15 to 49 in Senegal have experienced FGM, the cutting or removal of the external female genitalia. Worldwide, 200 million women and girls have been affected by it.
 

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The truth about Female Genital Mutilation in Egypt and beyond
RFI - Radio France Internationale, 09 Dec 2019

Female Genital Mutilation, or FGM, is torture, according to the United Nations. It is a human rights violation and an extreme form of discrimination against girls and women. Where did the practice originate – and why does it continue? RFI's Anne-Marie Bissada went to Egypt to ask the questions. Unlike male circumcision, female circumcision can have long-lasting medical and emotional impact. The practice has no proven medical benefit – and it can result in death.
 

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Slovakia: Rejection of regressive abortion law is a victory for women’s rights
Amnesty International , 05 Dec 2019

Following a vote today rejecting a bill that would have forced women seeking an abortion to view an ultrasound scan of the embryo or foetus, Amnesty’s Senior Campaigner on Women’s Rights, Monica Costa Riba, said:This bill would have forced women seeking an abortion to view an ultrasound scan of the embryo or foetus.
 

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