Women in 15 African countries are working to abandon the deeply rooted traditional practice of female genital mutilation or cutting (FGM/C).

The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) estimates up to three million girls a year undergo the procedure.

Senegal looks set to become the first African country to stamp out FGM/C, according to the agency. UNFPA and local groups have engaged young women there—many of whom have been cut—in grass roots campaigns seeking to end the practice within a generation.

Dianne Penn spoke to Nafissatou Diop, coordinator of a joint UNFPA-UNICEF programme on FGM/C. She explains how Senegalese women are helping to change attitudes.

Duration:  3'05"