ICC Note:
Holidays for many girls in Somalia are a time of hardship and pain. Female genital mutilation, which is seen as a human rights violation, is often conducted in Somalia during holiday periods. This is because the girls then have time to have the surgery and heal before having to return to school or work. This senseless and useless violence causes a lot of pain and anguish for the girls and does not have any health or good purpose. It is estimated that 200 million women worldwide have been affected by this and another 30 million will have it done in the next decade.
08/11/2017 Somalia (UnitedNationsPopulationFund) – Asha Ali Ibrahim, 41, has been performing female genital mutilation (FGM) on girls in Diaami, Hargeisa and other parts of Somalia since 1997. July and August are her busiest months of the year. “This is the peak season, when parents bring their children to be cut,” she told UNFPA.
July, August and September are something of a “cutting season” for many girls around the world, when the break from school means they have time to undergo, and recover from, FGM. Though there is little formally collected data, experts say that FGM is commonly practiced during the school vacation period in parts of Guinea, Nigeria and Somalia.
In some cases, girls even travel from abroad to undergo the procedure. And in some places, it is a precursor to child marriage, which may also take place during school holidays.
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