Father defends the use of FGM despite the death of his 10-year-old daughter

The father of a 10-year-old girl, dead after undergoing female bad mutilation (FGM) in Somalia, had defended the practice, saying that he was "pleased" that the procedure remains widespread .

Deeqa Dahir Nuur She was killed by blood loss several days after being subjected to bad mutilation in the village of Olol, in the state of Galmudug.

His death angered activists in Somalia, where UNICEF estimates that 98% of women between the ages of 15 and 49

However, the girl's father, Dahir Nuur, said that, while he agrees that his daughter is dead because of practice, he believes that she was "taken by Allah".

"The people of the region are happy [FGM] his mother agreed," he told Voice of America

"We have seen the effects but it is a culture in the country where we live. "

M. Nuur added that he did not hold anyone responsible for the death of his daughter.

But, Hawa Aden Mohamed, director of the Galkayo Education Center for Peace and Development (GECPD), a local women's rights group, criticized "The excising woman is suspected of To have cut an important vein during the operation, "she said.

"The woman who operated on was not arrested but even though she was there, there is no law that would ensure that she is punished for it.

"This is only one of the many cases that occur daily in Somalia."

An estimated 200 million women and girls worldwide have undergone FGM according to United Nations figures.

The practice usually involves partial removal of the female bads and can cause various serious health problems.

Health experts say female bad mutilation can cause fatal complications at delivery later in

In some cases, girls may bleed to death or die from infections following the procedure, although they are hidden in the communities and rarely reported.

Somalia, a country in East Africa troubled by decades of civil war Its Constitution bans the practice, but efforts to pbad a law to punish offenders have been blocked by parliamentarians who feared losing powerful Muslim voting banks that support female bad mutilation and see it as part of their tradition

Additional Reuters report