Have you ever wondered why, despite the official denouncements and bans on female genital mutilation, the practice still persists?Where, for instance, do the perpetrators derive the confidence to violate the body, soul and mind of defenceless and innocent girls and women? And where does the buck stop? Is it at the doorstep of the parent who engineers and sanctions the act or the leaders who, for fear of losing the people's goodwill, turn a blind eye to it.