Kenyan Schoolgirls Invent App to Stop Female Genital Mutilation

These Kenyan students are the embodiment of “girl power”.

Five teens who call themselves “The Restorers” are taking a stand to end female genital mutilation (FGM) with their innovative cell phone app.

The app, known as i-Cut, is a program that allows girls to call for help, seek assistance, and report abuse to reputable law enforcement organizations. When utilized by a user, the app connects her with the legal, medical, and therapeutic counseling and resources required—all at the touch of a button.

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For their ingenuity, the Restorers were invited and became the only African participants to attend the Technovation Challenge in Silicon Valley, California – a competition for women who are using technology to address problems in their community.

If i-Cut wins the challenge, Technovation—which is sponsored by Google and the UN—will award the team $15,000.

The girls’ own community has denounced the practice of FGM, but since the tradition is deeply embedded in the social structure of many African villages, some Kenyan women are still subjected to the “rite of passage”.

“FGM is a big problem affecting girls worldwide and it is a problem we want to solve,” team member Stacy Owino told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. “This whole experience will change our lives. Whether we win or not, our perspective of the world and the possibilities it has will change for the better.”

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