In the lead up to International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation on February 6, please join us in praying for vulnerable girls at risk. 

Key FGM facts to pray into:

• Globally, it is estimated that at least 200 million girls and women alive today have undergone some form of FGM.

• Girls 14 and younger represent 44 million of those who have been cut.

• FGM is mostly carried out on young girls sometime between infancy and age 15.

• It can cause severe bleeding and health issues including cysts, infections, infertility as well as complications in childbirth increased risk of newborn deaths.

• The Sustainable Development Goals in 2015 called for an end to FGM by 2030 under Goal 5 on Gender Equality.

protected from FGM: A story of answered prayer

“Please God, rescue us, if it’s your will!” whispered twins Lemayian and Nashipai as they clung to each other in the dark, terrified and prayerful. After their father stopped calling for them, the girls picked themselves up and made a break for it. For the next four hours they relied on the full moon to light their path as they hurried to safety.

In Kenya, young Maasai women undergo female circumcision as part of an elaborate rite of passage that initiates girls into adulthood and, ultimately, early marriage. When Lemayian and Nashipai were introduced to a female visitor who was rumoured to perform FGM in their village and then asked to shave their heads at the local market, they grew suspicious. The girls were so anxious – Lemayian couldn’t even eat a mouthful of food, she was so scared. So they ran.

While these two girls have escaped the knife and possible early marriage, they are sympathetic of their peers who have been less fortunate: “We have three friends in school who went through FGM and got married at the age of 12. They now have two children each at 14. We are sad for them; they can’t continue with school, and they will probably not achieve their dreams.”

Thanks to their local church Compassion project, the girls had been educated about their rights and knew the warning signs. They are well on their way to achieving their dreams to become a surgeon and a banker.

Take action by praying

Father we pray for protection for girls at risk of FGM. We pray for the thousands of initiatives and projects working in culturally sensitive ways to help educate girls and their families. We give thanks for the work Compassion projects and our partner churches are doing to bring a stop to FGM.