To end female genital mutilation, economically empower women

Female genital mutilation (FGM) will not be eradicated unless women are economically empowered to make their own decisions, an activist stressed today, as the United Nations released data warning that the ancient practice may take centuries to eliminate.

Despite world leaders promising to eradicate the practice by 2030, FGM remains as common today as it was 30 years ago in Somalia, Mali, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Chad and Senegal. "Some countries are not moving at all, and those that are moving are not moving fast enough," said Claudia Cappa, an analyst...