According to World Health Organization, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is a global problem, spreading with migration, and affecting 3 million girls a year – one every 10 seconds – and is the leading cause of school dropout for girls. It is a harmful practice causing medical complications, such as infection and maternal deaths and it is a blatant violation of the girls’ rights to health and safety. In 2016 UNICEF reported FGM is ongoing with significant scale and the need to intensify efforts to eliminate this practice.

TEL International and its partners run an annual 10-month education program that gives voice to the girls age (9-15) at-risk of FGM. We monitor school attendance, knowledge of the danger of FGM, level of confidence to act against it, and the girls’ real-time situation related to it. Each community receives an informative education regarding FGM. A comprehensive online platform allows us to collect and store data, monitor and release early warning alerts that detect someone in danger of FGM.

The lives of girls, their families and community will be drastically altered, all from the knowledge gained about the negative effects of FGM and its health, psychological and socio-economic effects on girls. This project will empower everyone to resist societal pressure to conduct FGM. Girls will stay in school, have control over their bodies and achieve higher educational goals with economic opportunities to pull them out of poverty.

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