9th juillet 2025

The long overdue regional law on female genital mutilation: A welcome initiative in East Africa

This policy brief offers a comprehensive analysis of the draft East African Community (EAC) Elimination of FGM Bill, 2025. It breaks down the key provisions of the bill and presents compelling arguments to support its adoption across EAC Partner States, including Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda. Designed as a tool for civil society advocacy, the brief includes unified key messages for use by coalition members engaging policymakers.

What’s inside the report?

  • In-depth analysis of the draft EAC Elimination of FGM Bill, 2025.
  • Key provisions and offers strong arguments for adoption by EAC Partner States.
  • Unified key messages for use during engagements with EALA
  • Urgency of regional legislation to combat cross-border FGM, grounded in existing research on the issue.

Who’s it for?

  • Policymakers at the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA), especially members responsible for advancing regional legislation
  • Civil Society Organisations and coalitions advocating for FGM elimination
  • Regional bodies, including the East African Community Council of Ministers and the EAC Secretariat
  • The media

Key recommendations

  • Urgently adopt and operationalise the East African Community Elimination of FGM Bill, as it will provide a unified regional legal framework that will harmonise definitions, penalties and protections across Partner States and enhance cross-border coordination and enforcement
  • Criminalize cross-border FGM across all EAC partner states, through the EAC Elimination of FGM Bill, close legal and enforcement gaps by making it a regional offence to facilitate or conduct FGM across national borders, enabling joint prevention and response efforts.
  • Strengthen political will and leadership to elevate FGM as a political and development priority at both national and regional levels, ensuring sustained and coordinated action.
  • Through the EAC Elimination of FGM Bill, combat the medicalisation of FGM and hold medical institutions accountable while mandating data reporting and survivor care.
  • Promote a multi-sectoral, survivor-centred approach that supports public education, integrates anti-FGM measures into health and education systems, and ensures access to psychosocial and medical support for survivors.

Explore more resources

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Opposing the conflation of female genital mutilation and gender-affirming care in the US

This policy brief warns against conflating female genital mutilation with gender-affirming care in the U.S., highlighting the legal, medical, and human rights risks of misrepresentation and urging rights-based, accurate policymaking.

Legislative action to prohibit child marriage in Bolivia

This policy brief explains why Bolivia’s Bill, seeking to eliminate legal exceptions that allow marriage from age 16, is urgent and what is at stake if action is delayed.

Imperative legal, policy, and institutional reforms for enhanced support and protection of child marriage victims and survivors

Women and Law in Southern Africa (WLSA), with support from Equality Now, conducted a focused study on child marriage in Zimbabwe, using Epworth as a case study. The research examined the country’s laws, policies, action plans, and other mechanisms meant to protect and support victims and survivors of child marriage.

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