8 August 2017
A group of female students , also known as“The Restorers” are taking a stand against female genital mutilation (FGM) with a new innovative cell phone app in Kenya.
i-Cut app is a program that allows girls to call for help, seek assistance, and report abuse to reputable law enforcement organizations. The application connects the user with the legal, medical, therapeutic counseling and resources required when faced with a FGM in their area.
The app has been so wildly praised that it was recently entered into Technovation Challenge, a competition for women who are using technology to address problems in their community hosted in California (USA) and sponsored by Google and the UN.
If the i-Cut app wins the challenge, they will receive $15,000. Furthermore , the app is the only innovation that is being considered from African participants this year.
The practice of FGM has been , but since the tradition is deeply embedded in the social structure of many African villages, some Kenyan women are still subjected to the “rite of passage”.
“FGM is a big problem affecting girls worldwide and it is a problem we want to solve,” team member Stacy Owino told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. “
This whole experience will change our lives. Whether we win or not, our perspective of the world and the possibilities it has will change for the better.”
