West African genital cutters face fatwa, jail
In many parts of West Africa, female genital mutilation has been presented as a religious obligation for Muslim women, leading many to believe that if they are not circumcised they are unclean and that their prayers will not be heard: Now, efforts to eradicate FGM in West Africa have taken a step forward with a fatwa against the practice in Mauritania and sanctions in Niger against mothers who subject their daughters to it.