Liberia prohibits female circumcision for the time being

london - Liberia prohibits the circumcision of women for a year. That is a big step because about half of the women in the country are familiar with these practices. Yet protesters who are fighting against it are not happy. They urge the new president George Weah to have a permanent law that is complied with and that applies to everyone.

Now women above the age of eighteen can still be circumcised if they give permission for this. Proponents of treatment, in which the external genitals are partially or completely removed, see it as a transitional ritual.

The new legislation was signed last week by the former female president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, but received little attention due to the inauguration of the new president.