Girl Dies After Undergoing Female Genital Mutilation

Gabrielle Okun

A 10-year-old girl in Somalia died on July 14 after complications from female genital mutilation.

Deeqa Dahir Nuur, the young girl from the village of Olol, bled to death after a traditional cutter in her town severed a vein causing hemorrhaging, according to The Guardian Friday. She was then taken to a hospital, where she died of blood loss.

While FGM is constitutionally illegal, pressure from religious groups have prevented political figures from enacting any legislation to punish cutters, The Guardian added. Somalia has 99.8 percent Muslim population as of 2010, according to Pew Research Center.

“The woman who performed the operation has not been arrested, but even if she was, there is no law that would ensure she is punished for the act,” said Hawa Aden Mohammed, the founder of an NGO that raises awareness against the dangers of FGM.

“It is difficult to estimate the number of girls who die due to FGM per month or per day because they are [sworn] to secrecy, particularly in rural areas. We only get to hear of the few cases of those bold enough to seek medical treatment in towns. But from the stories we do hear, they could be in their dozens,” Mohammed added.

Approximately 98 percent of Somali females have undergone the procedure, according to the World Health Organization. Somalia has the highest percentage of females who received FGM.

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