The United Nations has denounced Saturday that some twenty girls have been subjected to genital mutilation in a single day in the Somali state of Jubaland, in the south of the country.
The mutilations have occurred in the locality of Kismayu, according to the UN, which gives no further details. However, this condemnation comes after the NGO Ifra Foundation denounced last Wednesday that at least 29 girls had been subjected to this practice in a camp for internally displaced persons in El Jalle, 25 kilometers from this place.
«All the victims were too young to give informed consent» to a procedure that, as could be expected, «caused them to hemorrhage severely,» lamented the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) representative for the African country, Niyi Ojuolape.
The UNPF «strongly condemns the incident» and warns that the «drought and humanitarian crisis» have increased «the risk faced by Somali girls as a result of this practice».
«I call on the Government to take all necessary measures to ensure that those responsible for this incident are held accountable, to deter others, and to protect the rights of women and girls,» it has called for.
The country has not yet passed a law to ban female genital mutilation, but has been working with UN agencies to disseminate information about the dangers of the practice.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
