AU CALLS FOR END OF HARMFUL TRADITIONAL PRACTICES
Mar 19th, 2010 by admin
Harmful traditional practices that put African women and children at risk should be ended, an African Union official has said. The AU’s Commissioner for Social Affairs and Culture, Bience Gawanas, told news agency Voice of America that a campaign to fight traditional practices in Africa such as female genital mutilation, child trafficking and underage forced marriages would be launched on 25 May. Gawanas called on Africans to promote positive cultural values and traditional heritage while recognising some disadvantages forced on women and children. In Africa around 92 million girls are estimated to have undergone female genital mutilation, according to the World Health Organisation.
