I had never heard of issues like sex trafficking and obstetric fistulas, let alone how prevalent they are. I couldn't believe that so many girls and women suffered and the rest of us let it continue.

For the past several years, AMREF has helped girls and women play a larger role in the community, specifically in eliminating female circumcision.

It is clear that femail genital cutting is a social norm in Indonesia as much as in parts of West Africa, where social change programs have enabled communities to abandon the practice. But what is different is the lack of awareness that FGC is an issue.

In order for FGM to be effectively abolished in these societies, it will be necessary for actual members of these societies to reject it, and to do so with conviction, as with any societal "issue."

Desert Flowerschronicles the story of a young Somali girl who made the journey from the harsh conditions as a desert nomad to unexpected success as a fashion model and activist.

Communities are changing, shifting, abandoning. The very people who have perpetuated the practice of female genital cutting for centuries are choosing to change.