‘The matter is in his hands alone’: president of Sierra Leone urged to ban FGM as court rules it tantamount to torture

‘The matter is in his hands alone’: president of Sierra Leone urged to ban FGM as court rules it tantamount to torture

The Ecowas court of justice has ordered the West African country to criminalise female genital mutilation after hearing the case of a woman brutally forced to undergo the practiceAs Kadijatu Balaima Allieu walked to a neighbour’s house in her village in Sierra Leone, she had no idea that what was about to happen would alter the course of her life for ever. It was a beautiful September morning in 2016 and Allieu, 28 at the time, had gone to resol…