Waris Dirie supports the call by the Inter-African Committee on Traditional Practices (IAC):

Dear all,

It is with great sense of alarm and shock that we learnt of the excision ritual that is taking place in the Pokot district in Kenya.

According to the report we received so many girls have been excised and about a 100 more are awaiting their turn. In this day and age when several international instruments have been signed and accepted to protect women and girls from violence such public carnage cannot and should not be tolerated by the international community. We would like to call upon all well meaning individuals, organizations, which stand for basic human rights to life and dignity to take all necessary actions to stop this unacceptable behaviour and practice. We call upon the Government of Kenya to declare a state of emergency and to mobilize all forces and efforts to save the lives of these innocent girls lined up to be sacrificed in the name of tradition and culture.

Thank you for your urgent attention to this call. Please diffuse this message widely through your networks and contacts to other human rights activists.

Yours Sincerely

Berhane Ras-Work
Executive Director
Inter-African Committee on Traditional Practices (IAC)