A Girl’s Coming Of Age In A New Age

Is there a way to mark a girl’s maturity without cutting away part, or all, of her external genitalia? On February 7, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki­-moon called for “a better way,” during its International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation. The U.N. has called the practice a violation of the rights of girls and women.

Some communities are embracing new ceremonies that do away with all cutting in Maasai and Samburu communities in Kenya and Tanzania, and culminate in communal singing and dancing and the village elders pouring a mixture of milk and honey and water over the heads of the girls, reports Diane Cole.

Read more at NPR