DALOCHA DISTRICT, Ethiopia – When she was fourteen, Zekia discovered that her parents were secretly preparing for her older sister to undergo female genital mutilation.

KHARTOUM, Sudan – “I personally experienced female genital mutilation and its harmful effects. I will not allow my daughters to be exposed to this,” said Zuha from White Nile state, in southern Sudan.

When Isirimu Margret got pregnant at 16, her hope to continue her studies vanished. She dropped out of school, married her partner and had their child. So when the chance to obtain family planning counselling at her local health facility, a programme supported by UNFPA, arose, she took it, choosing an implant that would last for three years.

That meant time to establish her family in the rural Bukedea District, where she and her husband cultivate crops. When she was ready to have a second child, it was her choice. Soon after having the implant removed, she became pregnant.