MAMAMOO‘s Solar posted a video to her YouTube channel Solarsido that raised awareness for a very serious topic: female genital mutilation. The content for Solar’s videos is usually pretty light-hearted, like sharing what’s on her phone or showcasing and inspiring philanthropy through her own good deeds, such as that time she donated roughly 2,200 lbs of kimchi to the elderly.
Because February 6 was “International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation”, a day recognized by the United Nations with the goal of completely ending female genital mutilation by 2030, Solar took the opportunity to educate herself, and in turn, her subscribers and fans on the subject.
What is female genital mutilation? Solar explains it is “a procedure involving partial or complete removal of the external female genitalia or injury to the female genital organs for non-medical purposes.”
Unfortunately, based on her research, the practice is done mostly on youth.
Upward of 100 people experience female genital mutilation (FGM) daily and the procedure isn’t done by doctors, but rather by unqualified persons, such as village elders.
Because there is no medical purpose for FM and it isn’t performed by a doctor, many women die as a result.
During her research, Solar said she found shocking photos that were unbelievably upsetting. In one instance, she found the story of a father who didn’t want his daughter to undergo FGM, but when his village found out they found back and cut his hand off as punishment.
According to 2018 data from UNICEF (Korea), in 30 countries, of girls and women, it’s been identified that over 2 billion have undergone FGM.
—Solar
As if the worry of death wasn’t bad enough, the women who are forced to undergo FGM may experience lifelong complications from the procedure.
Solar was so deeply affected by what she learned about FM, she shared that she emphasized the importance of recognizing that this still goes on in the world today so that we can all do our part to bring it to an end.
I’m not particularly saying we should do something grand. But, at least for today, try searching things about FGM. Be aware that a procedure like this is a very bad malpractice.
—Solar
Watch the whole video below to hear Solar discuss FGM in-depth as well as her thoughts on how we can help, and where to donate if you are able and willing:
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