Liberia: FGM Practice Still Taking Place in Nimba County

Female Genital Mutilation of FGM is reportedly still being practiced or carried on Nimba County by traditional women, prompting Ambassador Juli Endee to raise alarm.

Amb. Endee, former Culture Ambassador of Liberia, expressed disappointment at the continuation of the practice of FGM which was banned by the government of Liberia in light of its harmful effects on women, who are often victims of this practice.

In a statement, Ambassador Endee said it is proven that FGM violate the fundamental rights of women, many of whom are forced to partake in this ritual against their will.

“It has also been shown to compromise the safety of female participants, both women and girls,” the statement said.

The Liberian culture icon and peace advocate for decades recalled how she, as a lifelong advocate and proponent of women’s rights, supported and participated in efforts that led to the ban on FGM, and pledged continuously support the prohibition of the harmful practice.

According to her, she believes in the rule of law and will continue to uphold and respect it.

It can be recalled that Liberia In October 2023 made a significant milestone in its fight against FGM when former practitioners from Nimba County, in northern Liberia handed over traditional tools they used to perform FGM to signal an end to the practice.

“The traditional ceremony took place on Friday, 27 October 2023, at the Gbanquoi Vocational and Heritage Centre constructed by UN Women under the auspices of the European Union and United Nations Spotlight Initiative,”

the statement noted.

“The ceremony marked a moment of transformation as former traditional practitioners, clad in white headgear and carrying containers draped in white cloths, surrendered their tools to Chief Zanzan Karwor, the former Chairperson of the National Council of Chiefs and Elders of Liberia,” the statement quoted her as saying.

The ceremony was witnessed by various stakeholders, including representatives from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social Protection, the Embassy of Sweden, UN Women, UNDP, UNFPA, civil society organizations, local authorities from Nimba, and traditional practitioners from various counties across Liberia.

Out of eleven counties FGM is practiced, Nimba has become the fourth county to conduct traditional rituals to effectively end the practice.

Other traditional ceremonies to end FGM have to date been held in Montserrado, Grand Cape Mount, and Bong Counties. This achievement aligns with Chief Zanzan Karwor’s landmark proclamation on 06 February 2023, to ban FGM throughout Liberia.

The ban entails putting an end to the harmful practice of cutting women and girls while upholding positive cultural practices, such as singing, dancing, and weaving, among others. This is now widely known as ‘initiation without mutilation.’

Chief Zanzan Karwor reaffirmed traditional leaders’ commitment to abandon the FGM practice in Liberia, while Ambassador Juli Endee, Executive Director for Crusaders of Peace and cultural Queen of Liberia, emphasized that traditional leaders chose to end FGM voluntarily, driven by their belief in doing the right thing to accelerate development.

Amb. Endee thanked development partners for the support, while acknowledged the importance of reaching out to the ‘real people,’ the traditional leaders and the Zoes (traditional practitioners) to ensure the success of this transformative process.