A Historic Reversal: Ending FGM Where 98% of Girls Were Once Cut”
“Others brought money. We brought ingenuity and the truth. And the truth is
setting them free.”
In a region of Kenya where 98% of girls were once subjected to Female Genital Mutilation
(FGM) and many were sold into child marriage, a revolution is quietly unfolding. This isn’t the
result of multimillion-dollar campaigns or government interventions. It’s the work of
WHOlives—and a team that refused to accept the lie that FGM is too deeply rooted to be
uprooted.
This moment is not just rare. It’s historic.
What Changed? Everything.
Others have spent years and fortunes trying to eliminate FGM through outside pressure and top-
down awareness campaigns. But those efforts largely failed. At WHOlives, we chose a bold,
uncharted path, one that prioritized people over programs and impact over optics. Here’s what
we did differently:
• ✅ Protect the Girls: We created immediate safe options for those at risk and stopped
imminent cuttings before they happened.
• ✅ Empower Law Enforcement: We trained and supported local police and judicial systems
to actually enforce anti-FGM laws that had long been ignored or feared.
• ✅ Educate the Girls: We taught girls the truth about FGM—its physical and emotional
harms, and the lies they’ve been told to justify it.
• ✅ Unite the Divided: In a radical step, we brought cut and uncut girls together, turning
former rivals into sisters united in the fight against FGM.
• ✅ Transform the Culture: We helped communities discover the hidden truth: FGM is not
part of their heritage. It came from the Middle East centuries ago. It is not their
identity.
With this understanding, entire villages began to shift—from silence and complicity to active
resistance and creating cultural pride without FGM.
The Quiet Revolution No One Saw Coming
The WHOlives philosophy of creating transformational change with an “above board, but
under the radar” mentality, purposefully kept our proactive approach safe and viable. This
wasn’t secrecy—it was genius. It ensured our local leaders, girls, and advocates could build
momentum without retaliation or politicization.
What emerged is one of the greatest, community driven, human rights victories of our time.
The Outcome? Real Change.
In areas once considered untouchable, cutting has plummeted. Girls are speaking out. Elders
are publicly renouncing the practice. Local leaders are championing new rites of passage based
on education, dignity, and health.
This didn’t happen with catchy slogans or speeches. It happened because we listened,
empowered, and refused to leave.
Ingenuity and Creativity; This is What Ending FGM Looks Like
WHOlives has done what no one else could: sparked the cultural rejection of FGM at the very
heart of where it once thrived.
In a place the world had quietly written off, we rewrote the future.
If you care about justice—if you believe this practice must end—
don’t just admire the outcome. Understand the blueprint.
Donate today at WHOlives.org and join us we continue in our fight to end FGM.
