Inside Liberia’s campaign to end female genital mutilation (FGM)

Across towns and villages in Liberia, a brightly branded bus has been stopping in markets, town halls, and community gathering spaces – not to transport passengers, but to drive critical conversations.

The Born Perfect Bus Tour is a community-driven initiative to end female genital mutilation (FGM). Travelling through Totota and Palala in Bong County, with outreach in Margibi, Cape Mount, Bomi, and Gbarpolu Counties, the bus reached more than 3,000 people in communities where the issue has often remained difficult to discuss openly.

The goal: open dialogue among women, men, youth, and traditional leaders; shift mindsets; and strengthen political commitment to finally end FGM.

“Besides listening to the radio, this was the very first time in my life hearing about the dangers of FGM”, said Daniel E. Kollie, a traditional leader and clerk for the Konawolala Administrative District in Bong County.

“The harmful part of our tradition… this was not something that I had heard conversations about in my community before.”

The Born Perfect Bus’s pilot tour, launched earlier this year, was supported by UN Women and the Embassy of Ireland in Liberia. The mobile outreach model was led by medica Liberia and the Community Healthcare Initiative (CHI), in collaboration with the Global Media Campaign to End FGM and the National Campaigners Against Harmful Traditional Practices.