Nigeria’s female genital mutilation ban is important precedent, say campaigners

The Nigerian government has taken the historic step of outlawing the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM), in a move campaigners describe as “hugely important”.

Nigeria – a cultural and political powerhouse in Africa – introduced a new federal law banning the practice, which involves removing part or all of a girl’s outer sexual organs. Continue reading…

A young Nigerian girl from the Hausa tribe stands next to the line as her mother joins others queuing to validate their voting cards, at a polling station located in an Islamic school in Daura, the home town of opposition candidate Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, in northern Nigeria Saturday, March 28, 2015. Nigerians went to the polls Saturday in presidential elections which analysts say will be the most tightly contested in the history of Africa's richest nation and its largest democracy. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

A young Nigerian girl from the Hausa tribe stands next to the line as her mother joins others queuing to validate their voting cards, at a polling station located in an Islamic school in Daura, the home town of opposition candidate Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, in northern Nigeria Saturday, March 28, 2015. Nigerians went to the polls Saturday in presidential elections which analysts say will be the most tightly contested in the history of Africa’s richest nation and its largest democracy. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

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