Above is a photo taken during my talk with Ann Curry of the TODAY SHOW about female genital mutilation. I asked her to do a segment on the Today show about the horrific procedure that has impacted more than 100 million girls and women worldwide. I took the opportunity to talk with her Friday night at the Washington School of Photography during her Exposing Darfur photo exhibition. Thirty photographs Curry shot while on assignment in Sudan and Chad from 2006 to 2009 are displayed, as will 10 more from Antoine Sanfuentes.
The facts about FGM:
- Female genital mutilation (FGM) includes procedures that intentionally alter or injure female genital organs for non-medical reasons.
- An estimated 100 to 140 million girls and women worldwide are currently living with the consequences of FGM.
- In Africa, about three million girls are at risk for FGM annually.
- The procedure has no health benefits for girls and women.
- Procedures can cause severe bleeding and problems urinating, and later, potential childbirth complications and newborn deaths.
- It is mostly carried out on young girls sometime between infancy and age 15 years.
- FGM is internationally recognized as a violation of the human rights of girls and women.
Alicia Kersting, Asma Ahmed, Ann Curry and myself.
One of Ann Curry's photographs taken during her time in Darfur.
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