As Italy emerges from what felt like three months of deep hibernation, I decided to look back on stories that would have made headlines - if Covid-19 had not completely dominated the news agenda.
Too many times, our TVs, newspapers, social media feeds and radios report on the game players of our world - the politicians. Recently, all I hear are stories about Boris Johnson, Donald Trump, Matteo Salvini and most recently, Dominic Cummings. While I think their actions should be held to account, I'm tired of putting them in the spotlight. Let's shift the focus shall we?
This week, we begin in Sudan: where female genital mutilation (FGM) has officially been marked an act of crime.
As a female growing up in Italy, I can't say I know what it feels like to live in culturally extreme circumstances like the ones present in Sudan. So learning about FGM was quite distressing.
But living through it, well that's a whole other thing.
Our sexual freedom, and the enjoyment we get from getting to explore it through adolescence into adulthood is a right every human should have. Almost 200 million girls in 30 countries are stripped of this right.
It doesn't stop there though. When females undergo this procedure - they're usually barely old enough to do their 2-times tables. Let alone stand up against societal norms. Women who have been talked to about their experiences are usually well into their 20s, by which time the mutilation is just a scar from the past.
What got me the most, though, is that the women who have gone through "type three" of FGM barely even get the space to pee. And that's not even the worst of the types.
Sudanese campaigners are desperately trying to change this. Many journalists are also trying to talk about the issue, but it's proving difficult in this highly conservative society.
The new law, which was officially passed on April 22nd, means anyone caught performing FGM in any way, will face up to three years in prison. Albeit it being small, it is a step forward. And if Sudan can get onboard, maybe a precedent can be set. If world leaders' pledge to eliminate it by 2030 is to happen - we need a global hands-on effort.
I can't believe procedures like these still occur in 2020. Especially when we are seeing advances like SpaceX's launch and lab-grown animal products soaring in other sectors. How can Earth be home to such polar opposites? Why are we pouring money into reaching further in some sectors, but taking money away from solving the basic issues of humankind?
In the end, it's only really a matter of information - of knocking down the wall of ignorance and informing ourselves of the stories that are a little more difficult to relate to.
Yes, bad news sucks. And Covid-19 has cast a black shadow on the better half of 2020. But learning to listen, to read, and to pass on, that's what human beings are best at. We should be using those skills to change our focus a little. Cleaning up the rough parts of our lifestyles before we decide to take on new worlds in the universe.
FGM still affects 87% of women in Sudan. But it doesn't have to anymore. Maybe, if we start playing our cards right, we can let girls choose what they want to do with their own bodies, without being embarrassed.
If you want to be a part of the change, take a look at this to start with!