In No Laughter Here by Rita Williams-Garcia, best friends Akilah and Victoria find their relationship changed after a summer when Victoria goes through a traditional Nigerian coming-of-age ceremony. But Akilah is determined to find out what happened, and why her best friend now slouches instead of standing tall. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines female genital mutilation as the range of procedures which involve "the partial or complete removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs whether for cultural or any other non-therapeutic reason." Approximately 138 million women around the world have undergone FGM. Every year, another 2 million girls are at risk of the practice.
To learn more about female genital mutilation, watch this YouTube video. Then visit FORWARD (The Foundation for Women's Health, Research and Development) to find out ways you can help.
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