The first rule of the married girls’ club is: empower girls
Fatuma was married off five years ago, when she was just 13. Like most girls from the remote Afar Region of Ethiopia, she had undergone female genital mutilation (FGM) when she was just a baby, and it was expected that her scars would open up during the wedding night.
Refugee mother and daughter fight rocketing rates of child marriage
“A girl I know from school here in the camp got married last year when she was 15,” Saba, 16, told UNFPA. Saba encouraged her friend to delay pregnancy until her body was more mature. But the pressure to have a child was too great. “Three months ago, she was pregnant with twins but had a miscarriage. I told her she should stop because her body isn’t ready yet, but she and her husband are adamant about having a child.”
Local Egyptian heroine aims to end “huge” suffering caused by FGM
In her daily life, Hoda Hamed, is a quiet 37-year-old kindergarten teacher, but when she is off the clock, she is a force of nature. Ms. Hamed is an outspoken advocate for women and girls, working tirelessly to convince her rural Egyptian community to abandon female genital mutilation (FGM).
Funding Proposal UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Programme on Female Genital Mutilation (Phase II)
<p>The UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Programme on Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FMG/C) is supporting national governments and civil society leadership, action and accountability towards the elimination of FGM/C, and it invests in capacity building to support these efforts.&nbsp;</p>
Midwives on the frontlines of fighting maternal death in Somalia
Maymuum's mother died giving birth. Today, newly graduated midwife Maymuun provides lifesaving care to other pregnant women and newborns in Somalia.