SOMALIA'S PUNTLAND MOVES TO BAN FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION

Somalia’s Puntland state has taken a first step towards banning female genital mutilation (FGM) in a country where almost all women and girls are forced to undergo the practice. Puntland President Said Abdullahi Deni and his cabinet this week approved a bill to be submitted to parliament that would criminalise the ancient ritual. “It will be forbidden to circumcise girls. Girls in Puntland must be left the way they are born. Anyone who performs circumcision in the region will face the full force of the law,” Puntland Justice Minister Awil Sheikh Hamud told reporters. Click here to learn more