MONROVIA, Oct. 24 -- President Joseph Nyema Boakai has submitted a bill to ban Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) to the Liberian legislature, just as national human rights groups presented a desperate plea for its criminalization before a top African human rights body. The move follows a direct and urgent call from the Association of Female Lawyers of Liberia (AFELL) and the Community Healthcare Initiative (CHI).

The two groups, partners of the Dignity Consortium, had earlier presented a position before the 85th Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights in The Gambia. They had demanded immediate and concrete action to protect Liberian women and girls. In their statement, the groups labeled FGM a "grave violation of hum...