Judges in Uganda have declared female genital mutilation "unconstitutional" and an infringement of human rights.
The case came about after fierce lobbying from Human Rights Advocacy for Women in Uganda which sought nullification orders against female genital mutilation (FGM) in April 2007.
Three years' later, the organisation has succeeded in its battle to expose the inhumane practice and impose a ban across the country where FGM has been practised for centuries.
Deputy chief justice Leticia Kikonyogo was joined by five other judges who ruled that FGM was not in accordance with international treaties governing human rights which have already been signed and adhered to by the Uganda government.
FGM is widely practised in tribal regions in Eastern Uganda where unqualified surgeons often perform the ritual without anaesthetic, causing unnecessary suffering and sometimes death.
The practice, criticised around the world as a breach of human rights, also increases the spread of HIV and AIDS through unsterilised instruments and poor clinical procedures.
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