The Lancet: FGM: the mutilation of girls and young women must stop
Audrey Ceschia, senior editor at The Lancet

“Feb 6, 2015, marks the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting, a day to reflect on one of the most cruel of human practices — an ancestral tradition that became a social norm — which has been tolerated for far too long. … Beyond helping women who have been cut, ending FGM must be the ultimate goal. … FGM is a global health issue that must receive more attention if we are to change the lives of millions of girls worldwide. The present debate on the definition of post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals — and the place of women and children within them — certainly provides an opportunity to end FGM within a generation” (2/7).

Huffington Post: Calling on Health Workers to Mobilize to End Female Genital Mutilation
Nafissatou J. Diop, senior adviser and coordinator for the UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Program on Female Genital Mutilation Cutting: Accelerating Change

“…Today is the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation, and this year’s theme is a call to action for health workers around the world to mobilize against FGM. The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) lead the largest global program to accelerate the abandonment of FGM, with a focus on 17 countries in Africa and the Middle East. As underlined by our Executive Directors, health workers are uniquely credible and influential in their communities and can take a leadership role in eliminating the practice…” (2/6).

The Guardian: My mother’s refusal to undergo FGM has given me license to dream
Miriam Jerotich, a writer and researcher from Kenya working at the Africa Coordinating Center for the Abandonment of FGM/C based at the University of Nairobi

“…As I grew up, I gradually came to understand the significance of my mother’s actions. She rejected circumcision in the 1970s, at a time when no one in her community had contemplated such an idea. She did not hesitate in sacrificing her own social identity and acceptance to hold on to her educational dreams. … I have attended school through to university without having to worry that [FGM] might cut short my dreams. My mother has given me the license to dream. She has imbued me with the confidence of encouraging other girls to dream alternative futures that do not rely on FGM as a prerequisite” (2/6).