PRB Webcasts

It is estimated that 100 to 140 million girls and women worldwide have been affected by female genital mutilation, or FGM. The practice, involving partial or total removal of the external genitals of girls and women for nonmedical reasons, has devastating immediate and long-term health and social effects. The Honorable Amina Salum Ali is the Permanent Representative of the African Union to the United States. In this interview, Ali describes what the African Union has done to combat FGM, what is needed to eliminate the practice beyond legal instruments, the social context of the practice, and how she feels about the future for Africa's women.