Clitoraid partners with 'Safe Hands for Girls' to provide clitoral repair surgery in the Gambia

LAS VEGAS, Feb. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Clitoraid, an international, U.S.-based humanitarian organization that provides clitoral repair surgery for survivors of female genital mutilation (FGM), today announced its new partnership with the Gambian NGO 'Safe Hands for Girls.'

"As the world is about to celebrate Zero Tolerance Day for FGM, we're so very honored that Jaha Dukureh, head of Safe Hands for Girls, has asked us to partner with her organization," said Nadine Gary, director of communications for Clitoraid.

"We'll now be working together to provide medical relief for FGM survivors by offering clitoral restorative surgery in the Gambia."

Gary said Dukureh was born in the Gambia, where she endured genital mutilation as a child. She later became a celebrated FGM activist in her country and was nominated to be its Woman of the Year in 2015.

"Two months ago, her fight against FGM led to the passing of a historical bill banning FGM in the Gambia," Gary said.

"And over the holidays, while Jaha was recovering from her own clitoral repair surgery in San Francisco, she received official papers from the Gambian government granting her the land on which to build an FGM medical center. She was told that the Gambian president had personally selected it!"

Gary said Clitoraid's volunteers, including Clitoraid's lead surgeon Dr. Marci Bowers, who operated on Dukureh, are looking forward to the joint venture.

"This is a life-saving, life-changing humanitarian joint mission, one that is supported by the government of the Gambia, and we hope it will inspire the newly elected president of Burkina Faso to have his health minister issue the permit for Clitoraid's hospital to finally open in Bobo Dioulasso," Gary said.  "Our brand new, state-of-the-art medical facility has remained closed for 2 years while thousands of FGM survivors desperately await this life-saving, life-changing humanitarian treatment."