FGM--Female Genital Mutilation

OK, here's a term you don't hear every day in the US, but I have learned it is very real in many parts of the world, affecting millions of girls. Meet Tema, a 15 year old Masai girl from Tanzania. She tells the story of most girls in her country and what they endure from this practice, including herself.
Girls are "circumcised" at an early age to keep them pure, so to speak, stopping any physical sexual desire. They are married off at a very early age, often to very elderly men. Some girls have been married off before they were born. Tema says that 89% of the girls are affected, and the Masai are the first people to use this practice. Some of the many side effects of this practice are how it interferes with the body's ability to give birth, great psychological trauma, and other health problems. Also, when the girls give birth at such an early age, the reproductive organs of the body are destroyed.
Tema was doing fine until she turned age 8, and her father offered her to another man for marriage. She ran away in the night and found a shelter that took girls in who were in her situation. She was able to get an education and now works hard for a change in law and practice in her country. She believes that nothing will change for girls if they do not have access to education. She loves her culture and her people, but thinks some practices should change because they are not good. Early child marriage interrupts the girls' education and to enforce a law that protects "girls" is useless because once these girls are married off and give birth, they are no longer considered girls, even if they are 13 or 14 years old.
I've discovered there is a big discrepancy between ratification of law and implementation and enforcement. There is little recourse when the girls live in remote areas and rape is so rampant. I will keep telling the stories I've heard here for a long time, even though I return home Sunday night. There is so much to digest, process, and plan. I want to find a way to move from telling of stories to action and implementation.