The Ebola outbreak in West Africa could bring a change of attitude towards the practice
GUECKEDOU, Guinea, Feb 6 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Muslim leaders in Guinea have called on families to end the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) to prevent the spread of the deadly Ebola virus.
Guinea has the second highest rate of FGM in the world, with around 97 percent of women and adolescent girls cut. But the outbreak in West Africa of Ebola - spread by infected bodily fluids - could bring a change of attitude towards the tradition.
In a sermon preached across mosques in the capital Conakry, senior cleric Imam Nabe Sidiki told worshippers that the preventative measures reflected the teachings of the Prophet Mohammad, who said the healthy should not be exposed to disease.
"In this period of Ebola epidemic, we must move away from all traditional practices that can be sources of contamination such as female circumcision and ceremonies that accompany the act," Sidiki's sermon read.
Despite progress towards ending the practice of FGM in other African nations, the prevalence in predominantly Muslim Guinea actually increased slightly between 2005 and 2012, according to government figures.
"This is the first time that public leaders have asked people to stop FGM. It's very promising," said Guirlene Frederic, head of child protection for UNICEF in Guinea.
"Having religious and community leaders speak out against the tradition is a good first step in trying to stop the harmful practice."
FGM, which involves the whole or partial removal of the clitoris and labia, is often carried out in mass ceremonies throughout Africa, in which many girls are cut using the same traditional knife.
The spread of Ebola - which has killed more than 8,900 people in the worst-affected countries of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone - has prompted campaigns to encourage villagers to adapt other cultural practices, such as traditional burials in which families often touch the bodies.
In Gueckedou, about 400 km (250 miles) southeast of Conakry, Isaac Lelano, who works for the Ministry for Social Action, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation that sermons needed to be backed by enforcement of the law. FGM has been illegal in Guinea since 2000, but the first case was only brought to court last year.
"FGM is a traditional practice that dates back thousands of years," said Lelano. "I'm not sure if Ebola is going to change this, but applying the law will. Right now in Gueckedou, some police officers don't even know the law exists."
FGM is practised by communities across a swathe of African countries as well as in pockets of Asia and the Middle East. An estimated 140 million women and girls worldwide have undergone the practice.
(Editing by Ros Russell)
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