Published on February 10, 2013 at 8:19 PM
"On February 6, 2013, in observance of the tenth anniversary of the International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation, I had the privilege of leading a panel discussion at the State Department to help bring global attention to a harmful traditional practice that risks the lives, dignity, and well-being of women and girls in far too many places around the world," Melanne Verveer, ambassador-at-large for global women's issues, writes in the State Department's "DipNote" blog. She details the panel discussion, noting "[t]he event brought together activists from the [non-governmental organization (NGO)] community, diplomatic corps, and policymakers in the U.S. government to address ways various stakeholders can work together toward zero tolerance to FGM/C." Verveer concludes, "By working together and sustaining the momentum and political will, we can reach a world where no women or girl has to undergo this devastating procedure; rather they will be free to realize their own full potential" (2/7).
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 This article was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research organization unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente.
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