Sudanese activists skeptical female genital mutilation law will stop practice

Sudanese women walk in the capital Khartoum's district of Jureif Ghar on May 5, 2020. - Sudan's cabinet approved amendments to the criminal code that would punish those who perform Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) with up to three years in prison and a fine. The practice has long been viewed, especially in rural communities, as a "rite of passage" for girls and a way to preserve their chastity. Rights groups have for years decried as barbaric the practise which can lead to myriad physical, psychological and

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Women chant slogans during a demonstration calling for the repeal of family law in Sudan, on the occasion of International Women's Day, outside the Justice Ministry headquarters in the capital Khartoum on March 8, 2020. - Under ousted president Omar al-Bashir's Islamist regime, a notorious "public order" law was used to have women publicly flogged or imprisoned for "indecent" dress or for drinking alcohol, seen as "indecent and immoral acts". Sudan's new government last November revoked the legislation -- b

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Sudanese activists skeptical female genital mutilation law will stop practice

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