Real Life

Beatrice and Edna Kandie are two young sisters in Kenya, who ran away when they learned that their father was planning to subject them tothe harmful traditional practice of female genital mutilation (FGM). They found a lawyer and obtained an order ofprotection from the court, prohibiting their father from cutting them. This was the first such case in Kenya'shistory. Following their victory, Equality Now organized a speaking tour for them to schools around their region,giving them the opportunity to talk to other girls about their experience, which has inspired other girls to get similar orders of protection from thecourt. During this same period, Equality Now began campaigning on behalf of three young sisters in neighboringTanzania, where FGM is prohibited by law. The girls fled to the police, after learning their father was going toforce them to undergo FGM. Despite the law, the police turned the girls over to their father who had them cut andforcibly married. They were all under 15 years old. Equality Now is calling on the government of Tanzania to educatethe police and direct them to enforce the law to protect girls from the practice of FGM.