Burkina Faso arrests 30 over illegal female circumcisions

Burkina Faso authorities have jailed more than 30 adults after they carried out botched female genital mutilation on nearly 60 infants and girls who have been hospitalised.

Viviane Ursule Sanou, head of the National Secretariat against Circumcision, said on Tuesday the banned procedure was carried out on girls and young women ranging from 10 months to 24 years old in the capital, Ouagadougou, Kaya in the north and two towns in the central east.

She says because the practice is illegal, many people carry out the circumcisions in secret. All of the victims have been admitted to hospitals for treatment of hemorrhage and infection.

Burkina Faso adopted measures banning female circumcision in the early '90s. The penal code adopted this year suggests up to 10 years in prison and severe fines.

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