âMumkinâ: An App to Spark Dialogue About Female Genital Cutting
The app, which uses artificial intelligence to simulate conversations with family members on FGC, aims to help users gain confidence to broach the subject in real life.
Representative image. Photo: mumkinapp.com
Women06/Feb/2021
In recent years, there has been much talk of an impending artificial intelligence (AI)-takeover. AI, we are told, will soon be better than us at driving trucks, writing novels and even performing surgery. Major companies like Alibaba and Amazon already use AI for tasks such as predicting what consumers will buy.
However, current implementation of AI is largely restricted to corporations, which use it to cut costs and increase profits. There has been relatively little exploration of what AI can do beyond making money. This gap in AIâs development was a pivotal question for Mumkin co-founder Priya Goswami. âWhere is the discourse on ethical AI?â Goswami wondered.
Kenya to Somalia, Female Genital Mutilation Lives on in These Countries Despite Being Human Rights Violation
FOLLOW US ON:
Today, February 6, marks the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the practice is prevalent in around 30 countries, mainly in Africa and in the Middle East. It is estimated that more than 200 million girls and women alive today have undergone one or the other form of genital mutilation in these countries and an estimated 3 million are at risk of undergoing the same.
This inhumane cultural practice stems from the belief that a female s virginity needs to be preserved to make her ‘marriageable’. In some cultures, there is a misconception that the practice is to ensure hygiene. Most girls undergo genital mutilation under 15 years of age.