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I read this article that the evoke site has provided in the womanswatch feed link they provided with a bunch of other links. This story really stood out for me. A woman is standing up for what she thinks is right despite ridicule and harsh opinions she is getting from her community. She used to practice female mutilation in thinking it was for the practice for her Islamic religion. Its like a female circumcision. "In the Afar region, women have traditionally been subjected to the most severe form of the practice, infibulation, usually between the ages of seven to nine. In some districts it is carried out within the first few days after birth. Infibulation involves the entire removal of the clitoris, the labia minora and labia majora, followed by sealing of the wound, which leaves only a small hole for the passage of urine and menses. Figures show that 63.2 per cent of women in the Afar region have undergone infibulation (some people are now practicing a less extreme form). The practice leaves the girls with severe pain and trauma, shock, haemorrhage, sepsis, urine retention, ulceration of the genital region, and urinary infection, among other complications. Obstruction and tearing during sexual intercourse or childbirth is common." She now stops due to the seriousness that it is very bad for woman to get such treatment and can affect their bodies negatively, along with the main reason it doesn't support her religion.

Im learning more about womens rights right now, and in particular im wondering about this: why do people continue to combat ancient traditions with "new age" materials. I was researching this question online, and this blood post (http://www.unfpa.org/public/cache/offonce/news/pid/5141;jsessionid=79251EA07F4AF207A35AD2EE993377DC) caught my attention. It caught my attention because removal of genitals is a tradition, and im curious as to why people are combating that. "A smile formed on Dohra Ali's face when she recalled what her eldest daughter asked her a couple of years ago. "Mother, is there a place in this world where FGM is not practised where I could go to?" At the time, the question came as an affront to Dohra, who was herself one of the women in the community who did the cutting." The quote i chose here is basically saying, Dohra's daughter has inspired her to combat ancient traditions. I think this is a heavy impact because, when a mother sees her daughter scared and worried, that mother would do anything to protect them. It makes me wonder where our society is heading in the future if we continue to abandon ancient traditions