Mulika Afrika is a non-profit organisation supporting the community stopping FGM through its project called Ending FGM in the Masai community as the data shows 32% of women and girls aged 15-49 have undergone FGM in Tanzania’s Arusha Region, especially in the Maasai community, where the practice signifies a girl’s transition from childhood to adulthood. It is considered honourable and is traditionally believed to increase a girl’s value for marriage.
FGM modifies the female genitalia for non-medical reasons; a practice grounded in cultural traditions which risks the lives of girls between the ages of 1 and 15 and results in life-long health complications. The MUA warns that this human rights violation can lead to extreme bleeding, recurrent bladder and urinary tract infections, infertility, complications during childbirth and newborn deaths. FGM perpetuates a cycle that sustains gender inequality and limits girls' ability to maximize their full potential in life.
As the project's goal is to protect girls from FGM and to foster positive social change within FGM-practicing communities in the Arusha region so that girls and women can live healthy and empowered lives, free from FGM and adverse FGM-related health complications. The project works directly with individual girls and families, schools, as well as operations at the community level.
