IN BRIEF (Page 12)

Tanzania

Girls escape from genital mutilation

Hundreds of Tanzanian schoolgirls returned home on Monday after spending three months hiding in safe houses to escape genital mutilation, state television said. Female genital mutilation can range from hacking off the clitoris to the removal of the entire female genitalia. Some 800 girls fled to shelters run by charity organizations that offer protection during the months mutilations are traditionally carried out, from October to December.