Starting conversations to end cutting – Part 2

In 2017 in Kenya, a group of teenage girls created an app called ‘i-Cut’. The main aim of the app is to offer a way for girls about to undergo FGM to get in contact with help. But another aim of the app is to encourage people to talk about how FGM has affected them and what they can do to help prevent it. If FGM is not spoken about, it will continue to exist for a long time.

CASE STUDY: KENYAN TEENAGE GIRLS CREATE APP TO HELP GIRLS AFFECTED BY CUTTING

A group of teenage girls took part in a ‘Technovation’ challenge in Kenya in 2017. Technovation challenges girls aged 10-18 to create an app that solves problems faced by their communities.

The girls created an app called i-Cut to help girls affected by cutting. The students named themselves ‘The Restorers’. They were the only Africans who participated in the 2017 Technovation Challenge in Silicon Valley, California. Their names are Stacy Owino, Cynthia Otieno, Purity Achieng, Mascrine Atieno, and Ivy Akinyi. The group’s mentor is Dorcas Adhiambo Owino.

The aim of their app is to restore hope to girls in their communities. The app will connect girls affected by cutting to legal and medical assistance. If a girl is forced to undergo cutting, she can alert her local authorities by pressing a panic button on the app.

Owino (the group’s mentor) has said that “the app is a good way of getting people to talk about FGM. It is a conversation starter and that shows anyone can be involved in the fight against FGM.”

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, this case study demonstrates the amazing changes women can make to science, technology, and health. It also shows how communal attempts to end FGM can put Africa on the global stage and also encourage more people to talk about ending FGM. If we talk about the negative effects of FGM and the importance of stopping the practice, more people will start to take notice and FGM could end within a generation.

 

Photo Credit: Oluwaseun Otitoola

ABIGAIL ALLAN

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