Two 60-year-old women have been arrested in Burkina Faso after being accused of illegally circumcising at least 50 girls. Some of the parents of the girls have also been arrested.
The girls, some as young as four years have been hospitalised after complications arising from the circumcisions – also referred to as female genital mutilation-FGM.
The minister of women’s affairs, Laurence Ilboudo, said the number of girls circumcised is thought to be higher, but not all of them have been traced.
Female circumcision has been illegal in Burkina Faso since 1996 and carries a jail term of up to three years.
