was adopted by parliament in june 2011 with 64 votes to 1. at the time, 45% of women aged 15 to 49 years were affected by fgm. according to a survey, 33% of women favoured a continuation of genital cutting, but 50% of the overall population wanted to abandon the practice. kenya female genital mutilation is present in kenya. the 2014 kenya demographic and health survey (dhs) estimated the national prevalence of fgm to be 21% among women age 15–49, down from 27% in the 2008/09 survey and 32 percent in the 2003 survey. the prevalence of fgm in 2014 varied widely by age, location, ethnic group, and religion. prevalence of fgm increases with age. it is lowest among women ages 15–19 at 11.4%, and highest among women aged 45–49 at 40.9%. this trend underscores the declining trend in fgm over time. in march 2020, the percentage of women and girls aged 15 to 49 living in kenya who had undergone fgm was reportedly still 21%.: 21 by region, prevalence in 2014 was highest in the former provinces of north eastern (97.5%), nyanza (32.4%), rift valley (26.9%), and eastern (26.4%), and lower in central (16.5%), coast (10.2%), nairobi (8.0%), and western (0.8%). it is more common in rural areas (25.9%) than urban (13.8%). by ethnic group, fgm is most prevalent among women in the somali (93.6%), samburu (86.0%), kisii (84.4%), and maasai (77.9%) ethnic groups. by religion, it is more prevalent in muslim women (51.1%) and women listing no religion (32.9%) and less prevalent in roman catholic (21.5%) and protestant or other christian women (17.9%). in 2001 kenya enacted the children's act, under the provisions of which fgm was criminalized when practiced on girls younger than 18. the practice was made illegal nationwide in september 2011. liberia female genital mutilation is prevalent in liberia. genital mutilation is a taboo subject in liberia. it is difficult to get accurate data on fgm prevalence rate. the fgm procedure is mandatory for initiation of women into the secret liberia and sierra leone society called the sande society, sometimes called bondo. a 2007 demographic survey asked women if they belonged to sande society. it was assumed that those who were part of sande society had undergone fgm. based on this estimation method, the prevalence of fgm in liberia has been estimated as 58%. liberia has consented to international charters such as cedaw as well as africa's maputo protocol. national legislation explicitly making fgm punishable by law has yet to be passed. as fgm was less prevalent among younger women in a 2015 study, this suggested a decline in the practice. libya female genital mutilation is discouraged in libya and as of 2007 had been practiced only in remote areas by migrants from other african countries. malawi female genital mutilation is practiced in malawi mostly in the following districts. southern malawi: mulanje, thyolo, mangochi and parts of machinga and chiradzuro district. in the northern part of malawi: nkhatabay. this custom is common among the tonga tribe, yao tribe and lomwe tribe. it is a custom which has been there for generations. in some villages it is deeply rooted compared to others. every fgm camp has its own degree of how deep they want to conduct the custom but the motive is the same. it is shrouded in silence. not even the government authorities can trace the roots because the high powers are given to the local authorities of the village and clan. mali female genital mutilation is prevalent in mali. the who gives a prevalence of 85.2% for women aged 15–49 in 2006 in mali. in a 2007 report, 92% of all mali women between the ages of 15 and 49 had been subjected to fgm. the rates of fgm are lower only among the sonrai (28%), the tamachek (32%) and the bozo people (76%). nearly half are type i, another half type ii. the prevalence varies with religion in mali; fgm is prevalent in 92% of muslim women, 76% of christians. about 64% of the women of mali believe fgm is a religious requirement. in 2002, mali created a government program aimed at discouraging fgm (ordinance no. 02-053 portant creation du programme national de lutte contre la pratique de l’excision ). there is no specific legislation criminalizing fgm. mauritania female genital mutilation is prevalent in mauritania. according to 2001 survey, 71% of all women aged between 15 and 49 had undergone fgm. a 2007 demographic cluster study found no change in fgm prevalence rate in mauritania. type ii fgm is most frequent. about 57% of mauritania women believe fgm is a religious requirement. mauritania is 99% muslim. the fgm prevalence rate varies by ethnic groups: 92% of soninke women are cut, about 70% of fulbe and moorish women, but only 28% of wolof women have undergone fgm. mauritania has consented to international charters such as cedaw as well as africa's maputo protocol. ordonnance n°2005-015 on child protection restricts fgm. niger female genital mutilation is present in niger. in a 2006 survey, about 2% of niger women had undergone fgm. in 1998, niger reported a 4.5% prevalence rate. this survey data is potentially incorrect because, adjusted for age group, the women who claimed to have experienced fgm at the previous survey still are, albeit in a different age group. the 2006 survey implies more women had never experienced fgm than previously reported. the dhs surveyors claim the adoption of criminal legislation and fear of prosecution may explain why niger women did not want to report having been circumcised. a who report estimates the prevalence rate of fgm in niger to be 20%. other sources, including a unicef 2009 report, claim fgm rates are high in niger. a law banning fgm was passed in 2003 by the niger government. nigeria a 2008 demographic survey found 30% of all nigerian women have been subjected to fgm. this contrasts with 25% reported by a 1999 survey, and 19% by 2003 survey. this suggests no trend, unreliable past or most recent survey data in some regions, as well as the possibility that a number of women are increasingly willing to acknowledge having undergone fgm. another possible explanation for higher 2008 prevalence rate is the definition of fgm used, which included type iv fgms. in some parts of nigeria, the vagina walls are cut in new born girls or other traditional practices performed – such as the angurya and gishiri cuts – which fall under type iv fgm classification of the world health organization. over 80% of all fgms are performed on girls under one year of age. the prevalence varies with religion in nigeria; fgm is prevalent in 31% of catholics, 27% of protestant and 7% of muslim women. fgm was banned throughout the country in 2015. republic of the congo fgm is not commonly practiced in the republic of the congo, but some sources estimate its prevalence at 5%. rwanda female genital mutilation is not practiced in rwanda. senegal female genital mutilation is present in senegal. according to 2005 survey, fgm prevalence rate is 28% of all women aged between 15 and 49. there are significant differences in regional prevalence. fgm is most widespread in the southern senegal (94% in kolda region) and in northeastern senegal (93% in matam region). fgm rates are lower in other regions: tambacounda (86%), ziguinchor (69%), and less than 5% in diourbel and louga regions. senegal is 94% muslim. the fgm prevalence rate varies by religion: 29% of muslim women have undergone fgm, 16% of animists, and 11% of christian women. a law that was passed in january 1999 makes fgm illegal in senegal. president diouf had appealed for an end to this practice and for legislation outlawing it. the law modifies the penal code to make this practice a criminal act, punishable by a sentence of one to five years in prison. a spokesperson for the human rights group raddho (the african assembly for the defense of human rights) noted in the local press that "adopting the law is not the end, as it will still need to be effectively enforced for women to benefit from it. senegal ratified the maputo protocol in 2005. sierra leone female genital mutilation is prevalent in sierra leone. according to a 2008 survey, 91% of women in sierra leone between the ages of 15 and 49 have undergone fgm. the highest rate of prevalence is in the northern sierra leone (97%). type ii is most common, but type i is known as well as type iii. in a 2013 report, researchers first conducted verbal surveys followed by clinical examination. they found that the verbal disclosure were not completely reliable, and clinical examination showed greater extent of fgm. these researchers report 68% type ii and 32% type i in sierra leone women. like liberia, sierra leone has the traditional secret society of women, called bondo or sande society, which uses fgm as part of the initiation rite. 70% of the population is muslim, 20% christian, and 10% as traditional religions. the predominantly christian creole people are the only ethnicity in sierra leone not known to practice fgm. there is no federal law against fgm in sierra leone; and the soweis – those who do fgm excision – wield considerable political power during elections. somalia fgm is almost universal in somalia, and many women undergo infibulation, the most extreme form of female genital mutilation. according to a 2005 who estimate, about 97.9% of somalia's women and girls underwent fgm. this was at the time the world's highest prevalence rate of the procedure. a 2010 unicef report also noted that somalia had the world's highest rate of type iii fgm, with 79% of all somali women having undergone the procedure; another 15% underwent type ii fgm. article 15 of the federal constitution adopted in august 2012 prohibits female circumcision, stating: 'circumcision of girls is a cruel and degrading practice, and is tantamount to torture. the circumcision of girls is prohibited'.: 24 however, as of march 2020 there are no laws and no known prosecutions of fgm in somalia.: 22 somaliland and puntland the prevalence rate varies considerably by region and is reportedly on the decline in the northern part of the country. somaliland in the northwest is a self-proclaimed independent state and de facto functioning as such since 1991, but internationally recognised as part of somalia,: 24 while puntland in the northeast has self-proclaimed autonomy within somalia since 1998. according to the unicef somaliland multiple indicator cluster survey report (final version published in 2014), the prevalence of fgm in somaliland in 2011 was 99.1% amongst women aged 15–49. most of these women had been cut as girls between the ages of 4 and 14, with 85% of them having undergone type iii. however, 69% of women aged 15–49 who had heard of fgm believed it should be discontinued, while 29% wanted it to continue. only 27.7% of somaliland girls aged 4–14 were reportedly cut in 2011, indicating a strong decline in the practice. younger women were also more likely to oppose fgm than older women. in an announcement on the preliminary report in april 2013, unicef in conjunction with the somali authorities stated that the fgm prevalence rate among 1- to 14-year-old girls in the autonomous northern puntland and somaliland regions had dropped to 25% following a social and religious awareness campaign. a bill criminalising fgm was proposed in the somaliland parliament in 2018;: 31 as of august 2019, it has not passed yet. also in 2018, religious authorities issued a fatwa to condemn the two most severe forms of fgm, but it allowed mixed interpretations on lesser forms of fgm. with only limited government support, health workers from the somaliland family health association (sofha) were campaigning to end the practice by educating citizens village by village. in january 2020, the somaliland ministry of religious affairs announced the formation of a committee consisting of nine clerics to ' with the issue of female genital mutilation, which needs to be in line with islamic law', while stating that the ministry is 'committed to combating female genital mutilation'. british-somali anti-fgm campaigner nimco ali reacted by saying that especially 'religious leaders in the ministry of religion and welfare, who may not agree to an outright ban on all types of