5 Kenyan girls in the running for global prize over I-Cut app for FGM victims

Five Kenyan school girls who developed a mobile app to help victims of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) have been selected as finalists for a global prize.

The students are Stacy Owino, Cynthia Otieno, Purity Achieng, Mascrine Atieno and Ivy Akinyi from Kisumu Girls High School.

They have named themselves ‘The Restorers’ saying they want to restore hope to girls affected by FGM.

The winners of the Sakharov Prize 2019 are set to be announced on Thursday.

A CNBC report notes that the European Parliament awards the Sakharov Prize every year to honor exceptional individuals and organisations that defend human rights and fundamental freedoms.

According to the girls, the interface of the I-Cut app has five different buttons with different options: Help, Rescue, Report, Information on FGM, Donate and Feedback.

The first three options allow the girls to seek for immediate help, find a rescue centre or report the procedure to authorities in countries where FGM is illegal.

Incidentally, the I-Cut app was also nominated for the 2017 Technovation Challenge.

According to the World Heath Organization, FGM—-which involves partial or total removal of the female external genitalia or other injuries to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons—has been performed on more than 200 million girls and women alive today.

WHO reports that each year, more than 3 million girls worldwide are at risk of undergoing FGM; seven girls every minute with most girls cut before the age of 15.