NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is lauding the British newspaper The Guardian for its work to raise awareness about female genital mutilation.
Speaking in Kenya on Thursday, Ban called female genital mutilation a brutal practice that must be stopped to increase the health, human rights and empowerment of women and girls.
The U.N. and The Guardian are partnering to offer a reporting award granted annually to an African journalist covering the mutilation issue.
Female genital mutilation is commonplace in 28 countries in Africa as well as in Yemen, Iraq, Malaysia, Indonesia and among certain ethnic groups in South America, according to Amnesty International.
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
