Analyses, facts and regularly updated news on female genital mutilation in Africa.

An introduction including what it is, countries that practise it, and a discussion on the religious influence, plus links.

Chapter eight of Human Rights Reference discusses prevalence and problems with FGM.

Amnesty International covers the topic of clitoridectomy, including procedures, why and where practiced, mental and physical effects on women.

An essay, by Lisa Donaldson, discussing this practice in the 21st century.

Articles by one of the leading authors and researchers on FGM.

A Nigerian woman is fighting deportation, saying she needs to stay because of her 10-year-old daughter, who is an American citizen. The mother has overstayed her visa by more than a decade. She says she can't leave her daughter in the US, but she says in Nigeria, the girl would be subject to a painful procedure known as female genital mutilation. NPR's Barbara Bradley reports. [4:47 minute Realaudio segment]

The arrest of an Ethiopian citizen in Atlanta, Ga., raises concerns that female circumcision -- a form of genital mutilation common in some African nations -- is being performed on young women in the United States. NPR's Ari Shapiro reports. 5.5 minutes radio segment via Realplayer.

A US appeals court ruling in favor of a young Somali woman says that a history of genital mutilation makes a woman automatically eligible for asylum in the U.S. [2:48 streaming audio broadcast]

NPR's Margot Adler reports on the case of a Ghanaian woman named Adelaide Abankwa - who won political asylum in the US, based on her claim that she would be subject to female genital mutilation if she were returned home. Feminist groups and others - including Hilary Clinton - rallied to her cause. Now, the INS says its lengthy investigation of Abankwa concluded she had not only lied about her identity - but also her fears of being tortured in Ghana. [A 5 minute 40 second Realaudio segment]

NPR's Margot Adler reports on the story of Adelaide Abankwah. Abankwah is the second woman in U.S history to be granted political asylum because she feared she would be subjected to female genital mutilation if she returned to her native Ghana. Abankwah spoke out today for the first time since her release from a detention facility - where she spent two years and three months. [4.5 minute Realaudio segment]

NPR's Libby Lewis reports on a Nigerian woman who is trying to have the practice of female genital mutilation accepted as a violation of the anti-torture convention, which the United States has signed. The woman lives in Dallas, but is here illegally and fighting deportation. The woman's claim is that she and her 3-year-old daughter, who is a U.S. citizen, would likely be subjected to the mutilation ritual which is practiced in some African cultures. If her argument is accepted, it could open the United States to many African women who otherwise could not move here. [4.5 minute Realaudio segment]

International campaign to eradicate the practice of female genital mutilation.

IDIL is a Daphne Programme project 2001/2003. The project is aimed at defining and experimenting strategies to prevent FGM among immigrant communities/families in Europe.

While contributing to the advancement of the field in general, we are currently focusing our work on the issue of Female Genital Mutilation to assert women's rights to their bodily integrity.

A resource centre for FGM activists, written in English, French and Arabic.

Attempts to present the practice from a variety of perspectives and serve as a networking resource for organizations doing work related to FGM.

Listings of national and international agencies, articles, organizations and web sites to find help for and information about female genital mutilation and female circumcision practices worldwide.

An international non-governmental organization based in Senegal Africa geared toward educating the people and ending female genital cutting.

Documentation of the medicalization of female genital mutilation in Kenya.