Women’s rights groups fear FGM is rife among Sudanese refugees in Chad

Practice banned in both countries but widespread among those displaced by Sudan’s civil war, say aid workers

Women’s rights campaigners have spoken of their concern over the spread of female genital mutilation among Sudanese refugees in camps across the border in Chad.

Both countries have outlawed the practice but it continues in secret. The UN children’s agency, Unicef, says that about 87% of Sudanese women aged 14-49 have been cut – one of the highest rates in the world. In Chad, the figure is 34.1%, though rates are higher in the south and east, which is where the camps for Sudanese people have been set up.