National Network for Equitable Library Service

When her parents died, and Nice and her sister Soila were taken in by their uncle, who had little interest in the girls. Fearing "the cut" (female genital mutilation), which was the fate of all Maasai women, Nice and Soila climbed a tree to hide. After Soila chose to undergo the surgery, sacrificing herself to save Nice, their lives diverged. Soila married, dropped out of school, and had children--all in her teenage years--while Nice became the first in her family to attend college, and used her visits home to set an example for what an uncut Maasai woman can achieve. Others listened, and her village has since ended FGM entirely.