UNFPA Uganda
February 19, 2012
AMUDAT - Uganda: It turned out a moment filled with emotions that hot and sunny afternoon in a little village of Amudat, north-east of Uganda,when a group of women publically rose up to denounce the practice of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and surrender their cutting knives to the authorities.
Dancing to the rhythm of the drums and the mellow tunes that set the mood, the group of once-committed women cutters, all colorfully dressed, snaked their way to the main-table and one by one, handed over their much-treasured tools – the FGM knives – to the Chief Guest of the day, Uganda’s State Minister of Gender and Cultural Affairs, Hon. Rukia Nakadama.
This spectacular event took place during the event to commemorate the 9th International Day of Zero Tolerance against FGM held at Pokot Senior Secondary school in Amudat district, on 6th February 2012. The women had travelled 73km from Karita Sub-County, Amudat district to the venue to take part in the event.
Amidst cheers from the crowd, the women said they made the decision to stop the practice after understanding that FGM was harmful and had negative impact on the lives of women and girls. They said that they were educated about the negative consequences of FGM by REACH (Reproductive, Educative and Community Health Programme). REACH is a community based organization supported by UNFPA.
“I decided I did not want to involve myself in this practice anymore. I don’t want to spill innocent young-girls’ blood anymore,” said one of the ex-cutters Margaret Chebet Kapkoikoi. She had been cutting girls for over four years. She also attributes her decision to retire from FGM cutting to the teachings in the church.
Hon. Nakadama praised the ex-cutters for their gesture and commitment to eradicate the harmful practice. “The handing over of these knives today is a positive gesture that society has now declared the abandonment of the practice,” said Nakadama.
This acceleration in the abandonment of FGM has been attributed to the UNFPA- UNICEF Joint Programme on FGM. This programme is grounded onto the ‘social norm approach’ that provides for community participation in the campaign to eradicate FGM. Community groups, including religious leaders, local leaders (LCs), FGM survivors, youth groups, ex-cutters and individual activists take action to publically denounce FGM; create awareness about the dangers of cutting women/girls; and advocate for change in attitudes towards a culture that is supportive of the social and economic empowerment of women and girls.
more pictures on http://www.flickr.com/photos/unfpauganda/
To read the full article on the UNFPA website, click here
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Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Could there be an end to FGC in Egypt after 2011's 'Arab Spring'?
February 15, 2012
Orchid Project
According to an alarming recent article in the New Republic, “the decades-long movement to stop FGM has become a casualty of the power struggle in Egypt.”
Since the revolution, and despite gradual progress, the fight to end FGC in Egypt has become even more of an uphill struggle. The National Council for Childhood and Motherhood (NCCM) has been stilted since the revolution, and there is increasing concern that FGC will fall off the political agenda. Political instability has led to a 75 percent cut in Egypt’s FGM-related donor funds from the United Nations since January. A lack of current funding means that Egyptian NGOs cannot push the issue.
On top of this, the emergence of the Muslim Brotherhood, filling the gap left by Mubarak’s departure, is worrying due to their past opposition to a complete ban on FGC on grounds that Islam does not forbid FCG. Manal Abul-Hassan, a female leader of the Muslim Brotherhood sees the campaign to end FGC as a promotion of a western agenda by NGOs. Activists fear that the traditionalist elements in the group pose a threat to their work.
First Lady involvement
Another factor negatively impacting the campaign to end FGC is its former association with Mubarak’s wife who played a major role in politicizing the anti-FGC movement. The backlash against Mubarak is a threat to the integrity of the continuing anti-FGC movement, and activists are who are keen to distance themselves from Suzanne Mubarak.
“We didn’t wait for Madame Mubarak to talk about FGM,” says Sidhom Magdi, head of the Egyptian Association for Comprehensive Development. But there is real fear that Suzanne Mubarak’s former involvement will undo the success of recent years.
The depressing news is that post Arab Spring, FGC activism is making glacial progress. “We have no leader and we have no strategy,” says Nihad Abu Kumsan, a lawyer and head of the Egyptian Centre for Women’s Rights. The U.N is keeping a low profile, fearful of the minefield of politics surrounding the issue.
The current activist movement in Egypt has tough times ahead. It must be careful to steer clear of being seen as promoting a western agenda, and of carrying on Mubarak’s legacy. However with the wave of optimism and possibility that has swept across the Arab spring, Orchid has every hope that the new generation will lead Egypt’s women away from having to conform to a tradition that no longer holds a place in Egypt’s contemporary society.
The history of FGC in Egypt
Female genital cutting is thought to have originated in the Nubia region of the Horn of Africa which is recognised today as Egypt and northern Sudan. Scholars date FGC back to around 200 BC. They suggest that infibulation (the most extreme form of FGC–type 3) was practised across all layers of society, spreading from the ruling classes to lowest class slaves. The term ‘pharaonic circumcision’ stems from the practise of FGC by the ancient Pharaohs.
Two thousand years worth of custom still influences, and today statistics place Egypt as one of the countries where FGC is most prevalent; according to 2008 UNICEF figures, 91% of Egyptian women are cut.
Yet despite high prevalence rates, there has been a gradual change in attitudes over time, particularly in younger generations. Studies suggest that FGC is becoming less common among the younger surveyed age groups. According to UNICEF, the percentage of married women who think FGC should be continue to be practised has dropped from 82% in 1995 to 63% in 2008.
The movement to end FGC in Egypt
FGC has been taboo in Egypt, and in large part continues to be so. Until the last two decades it was not part of any public dialogue. What brought FGC in Egypt into a national and international agenda was the 1994 United Nations International Conference on Population and Development, hosted in Cairo.
This conference succeeded in highlighting the negative health impacts of FGC upon girls. As a result, FGC became medicalised and families had their daughters cut by the medical profession. Prevalence figures in Egypt according to the 2008 DHS showed 31.9% of FGC was medically performed.
At the same time, a movement was emerging in the 90s which brought together grass-roots organisations, human rights activists, feminist groups, doctors and civil society, who began lobbying the government to act to end FGC.
Government champions the case for abandonment
The government was beginning to champion the case for abandonment which the anti-FGC movement was pushing for. In 1996, Egypt’s Health Ministry ordered an end to the practice. However it allowed for exceptions in cases of emergency, a loophole that critics described as so wide that it effectively rendered the ban meaningless.
Despite this policy and FGC being raised within certain spheres and receiving press coverage, it had not yet widely become a contested issue. In Egypt the practice is common among Muslims, but also in the Christian community which make up 10% percent of the population. Waters were muddied as many religious leaders from all faiths claimed that FGC was a religious requirement. There was also a rising backlash against what was being perceived as a ‘Western conspiracy’ against Egyptian traditions.
High profile tragedy
Then in 1997, two young girls died after botched operations and local media began reporting the details, including making front page news in Egyptian independent daily, Al Masry al Yom. Activists reacted to the deaths with public demonstrations, generating even more coverage.
Prominent Egyptian doctor and activist Nawal El Saadawi spoke out about ten year old Badour Shaker’s death at the hands of a doctor performing FCG:
“Bedour, did you have to die for some light to shine in the dark minds? Did you have to pay with your dear life a price … for doctors and clerics to learn that the right religion doesn’t cut children’s organs.”
Following this incident, a broadening movement of opposition to FGC grew from the grassroots upwards, fuelling the case for legal reform. The NCCM, a government agency that sets national health and social policies, played a leading role in pushing FGC onto the agenda. A new generation of medical university professors and doctors established a movement called ‘Doctors against FGC/M’ which publicly announced their support for abandonment. They worked with NCCM to increase awareness amongst medical staff around the dangers of FGC as well as the implications of violating medical ethics codes.
Yet there was still opposition to any kind of ban on FGC. A 2005 government health survey found that, “the practice of female circumcision is virtually universal among women of reproductive age in Egypt.”
Religious involvement
FGC on religious grounds remained a difficult issue and there was a push for Christian and Muslim scholars to publicly denounce FGC. The Al-Alzhar Supreme Council of Islamic Research, which is the highest religious authority in Egypt, issued a fatwa against FGC, saying that it has no basis in Islamic law (see our previous blog about that conference). Religion is powerful in changing attitudes, but this specific fatwa does not seem to have had the influence it could.
A recent UNICEF report for example commented that programmes by the Coptic Evangelical Organisation of Social Services resulted in 50 villages abandoning the practice in 2009. The report also notes that the subject of FGC has ceased to be a taboo and is now widely discussed by men and women especially in younger generations.
In 2008, the Egyptian parliament responded and banned FGC outright, categorising it as a deliberate harmful bodily injury on girls and women.
References
UNICEF ‘The Dynamics of social change : Towards the abandonment of female genital mutilation/cutting in five African countries’
New York Times, ‘Voices Rise in Egypt to Shield Girls from an Old Tradition’
The New Republic, ‘For Young Women, a Horrifying Consequence of Mubarak’s Overthrow’, October 2011
To read full article on the Orchid Project website, click here
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Australia Sees Rising Demand for Female Genital Mutilation
September 12, 2011
IntactNews
Jonathan Friedman
Last year saw the failure of policy considerations to legalize "ritual nicks" in the United States. With increasing immigration from high-prevalence countries, FGM is on the rise in Australia and many are calling for increased vigilance against this harmful practice in all its forms.
Sterilized scissors showing excised clitoris from an infant
(NEW YORK, NY) — A recent article in the Australian Medical Journal by Ben Mathews, LLB, PhD, calls for increased protection of girls and women from female genital mutilation (FGM). Australia is seeing an increasing demand for FGM along with a rise in immigration from high-prevalence countries.
Female genital mutilation (FGM, also known as female circumcision or female genital cutting) refers to a wide range of procedures where parts of the external female genitalia are cut off to satisfy cultural requirements of chastity, cleanliness, and aesthetics. FGM is often practiced in poor sanitary conditions, leading to significant complications.
Dr. Mathews writes in response to last year's controversy surrounding the alleged considerations of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (RANZCOG) to legalize "ritual nicking." Less harmful than male circumcision, "ritual nicking" is the practice of extracting a drop of blood from the clitoris to satisfy cultural adherents of female circumcision.
Last year saw the recommendation of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) to legalize "ritual nicking," the reason why the topic was brought under critical discussion by RANZCOG. The AAP policy recommendation was reverted after widespread outrage from human rights organizations, including Equality Now and Intact America, an organization that also campaigns against male circumcision.
Legal Protection
FGM is banned in many countries worldwide, including in at least 16 African countries. Current human rights statutes protecting girls and women from FGM include the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, the Protocol of the Rights of Women in Africa, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, and the United Nations Conventions on the Rights of the Child.
Children are currently protected from genital cutting under Australian law:
It is illegal to infringe upon a person's right to bodily integrity.
Courts have authority over parents who do not act in the child's "best interests."
Parents do not have the right to perform any treatments without a child's consent once the child reaches "sufficient understanding and intelligence."
Dr. Mathews stands behind the legal protections against all forms of FGM, which currently outlaw even consensual adult FGM procedures.
There are many justifications for these strict legal protections, writes Dr. Mathews, which are based on the following findings:
FGM predates the Koran and the Bible, and is therefore a cultural practice.
FGM is a form of direct social control on females' bodies and sexuality.
FGM victims have a high risk of infection, hemorrhage, and even death.
FGM causes complications for intercourse, childbirth, menstruation, including recurrent infections, chronic pain, and perinatal death.
Infibulation (or FGM type III, the most severe form of FGM, around 10% of all occurrences) requires re-incision for intercourse and childbirth, and includes a higher risk of fatalities during childbirth.
FGM causes severe psychological consequences comparable to rape, including post-traumatic stress disorder and a sense of violation.
FGM has significant effects on longevity.
Many support the decision to allow "ritual nicking" in a medical setting, believing it preferable to the reality of girls and women being taken abroad or underground to have FGM performed on them in unsterile conditions. To others, legalizing "ritual nicking" is a shocking concession.
"To sanction medically performed FGM would leave undisturbed the damaging assumptions motivating it, and would endorse the unjust attitudes to girls' and women's rights embodied in the practice," writes Dr. Mathews.
Recommendations
FGM presents practical challenges for medical practitioners, who must call upon relevant organizations in case they are asked to perform, treat, or give advice about FGM. Current Australian law requires doctors, nurses, school principals, and police officers to report each suspected instance of FGM.
Dr. Mathews calls for more research on the incidence (annual rate) of FGM, and on evaluating strategies in Australia in response to increased demand for FGM.
Ben Mathews, LLB, PhD, is an associate professor of law at the Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
To read the full article on the IntactNews website, click here
IntactNews
Jonathan Friedman
Last year saw the failure of policy considerations to legalize "ritual nicks" in the United States. With increasing immigration from high-prevalence countries, FGM is on the rise in Australia and many are calling for increased vigilance against this harmful practice in all its forms.
Sterilized scissors showing excised clitoris from an infant
(NEW YORK, NY) — A recent article in the Australian Medical Journal by Ben Mathews, LLB, PhD, calls for increased protection of girls and women from female genital mutilation (FGM). Australia is seeing an increasing demand for FGM along with a rise in immigration from high-prevalence countries.
Female genital mutilation (FGM, also known as female circumcision or female genital cutting) refers to a wide range of procedures where parts of the external female genitalia are cut off to satisfy cultural requirements of chastity, cleanliness, and aesthetics. FGM is often practiced in poor sanitary conditions, leading to significant complications.
Dr. Mathews writes in response to last year's controversy surrounding the alleged considerations of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (RANZCOG) to legalize "ritual nicking." Less harmful than male circumcision, "ritual nicking" is the practice of extracting a drop of blood from the clitoris to satisfy cultural adherents of female circumcision.
Last year saw the recommendation of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) to legalize "ritual nicking," the reason why the topic was brought under critical discussion by RANZCOG. The AAP policy recommendation was reverted after widespread outrage from human rights organizations, including Equality Now and Intact America, an organization that also campaigns against male circumcision.
Legal Protection
FGM is banned in many countries worldwide, including in at least 16 African countries. Current human rights statutes protecting girls and women from FGM include the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, the Protocol of the Rights of Women in Africa, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, and the United Nations Conventions on the Rights of the Child.
Children are currently protected from genital cutting under Australian law:
It is illegal to infringe upon a person's right to bodily integrity.
Courts have authority over parents who do not act in the child's "best interests."
Parents do not have the right to perform any treatments without a child's consent once the child reaches "sufficient understanding and intelligence."
Dr. Mathews stands behind the legal protections against all forms of FGM, which currently outlaw even consensual adult FGM procedures.
There are many justifications for these strict legal protections, writes Dr. Mathews, which are based on the following findings:
FGM predates the Koran and the Bible, and is therefore a cultural practice.
FGM is a form of direct social control on females' bodies and sexuality.
FGM victims have a high risk of infection, hemorrhage, and even death.
FGM causes complications for intercourse, childbirth, menstruation, including recurrent infections, chronic pain, and perinatal death.
Infibulation (or FGM type III, the most severe form of FGM, around 10% of all occurrences) requires re-incision for intercourse and childbirth, and includes a higher risk of fatalities during childbirth.
FGM causes severe psychological consequences comparable to rape, including post-traumatic stress disorder and a sense of violation.
FGM has significant effects on longevity.
Many support the decision to allow "ritual nicking" in a medical setting, believing it preferable to the reality of girls and women being taken abroad or underground to have FGM performed on them in unsterile conditions. To others, legalizing "ritual nicking" is a shocking concession.
"To sanction medically performed FGM would leave undisturbed the damaging assumptions motivating it, and would endorse the unjust attitudes to girls' and women's rights embodied in the practice," writes Dr. Mathews.
Recommendations
FGM presents practical challenges for medical practitioners, who must call upon relevant organizations in case they are asked to perform, treat, or give advice about FGM. Current Australian law requires doctors, nurses, school principals, and police officers to report each suspected instance of FGM.
Dr. Mathews calls for more research on the incidence (annual rate) of FGM, and on evaluating strategies in Australia in response to increased demand for FGM.
Ben Mathews, LLB, PhD, is an associate professor of law at the Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
To read the full article on the IntactNews website, click here
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Sarabah: A Female Rapper Wrestles With a Taboo Subject
January 11, 2012
The Huffington Post
Michal Shapiro
I don't often have the opportunity to write about a film that combines world music and social activism as closely as Sarabah, which will be making its television debut on Link TV, Sunday, January 15 at 11 pm ET/8 pm PT and will repeat on Friday, January 27 at 9 pm ET/6 pm PT. It is the story of Fatou Mandiang Diatta, dba Sister Fa.
Fatou is a driven woman. She was driven to rise to being one of the most recognized rappers in her homeland of Senegal, and now she is driven to stop the practice of Female Genital Cutting; a tactful term for the removal of the clitoris, or more, that is still part of life (and death) in Senegal today. Her music tour to put an end to this custom is the subject of the film, and it leaves few people unmoved. I've posted the trailer, and you can find more information about it here and at the Women Make Movies site.
I had heard Sister Fa's music on her excellent CD Tales from the Flipside of Paradise on Piranha records, and at the time suggested that she would make an excellent subject for part of a series of short films that Link TV was producing about New Music from the Muslim World. She was a good candidate in that we were hoping to find musicians who did not fall into the usual stereotypes, and being a successful female rapper in the male dominated society of Senegal was enough to put her in the running. But one meeting with the force that is Fatou convinced producer Steven Lawrence and Director Maria Gambale that her story could not be told within a 15 minute frame, and the decision was made (along with co-director Gloria Bremer) to create a full length documentary. That film, Sarabah, has gone on to win the Golden Butterfly Award in the Movies that Matter Film Festival.
And now you can see it for yourself, on Link TV. Check it out.
To read the full article on The Huffington Post website, click here
The Huffington Post
Michal Shapiro
I don't often have the opportunity to write about a film that combines world music and social activism as closely as Sarabah, which will be making its television debut on Link TV, Sunday, January 15 at 11 pm ET/8 pm PT and will repeat on Friday, January 27 at 9 pm ET/6 pm PT. It is the story of Fatou Mandiang Diatta, dba Sister Fa.
Fatou is a driven woman. She was driven to rise to being one of the most recognized rappers in her homeland of Senegal, and now she is driven to stop the practice of Female Genital Cutting; a tactful term for the removal of the clitoris, or more, that is still part of life (and death) in Senegal today. Her music tour to put an end to this custom is the subject of the film, and it leaves few people unmoved. I've posted the trailer, and you can find more information about it here and at the Women Make Movies site.
I had heard Sister Fa's music on her excellent CD Tales from the Flipside of Paradise on Piranha records, and at the time suggested that she would make an excellent subject for part of a series of short films that Link TV was producing about New Music from the Muslim World. She was a good candidate in that we were hoping to find musicians who did not fall into the usual stereotypes, and being a successful female rapper in the male dominated society of Senegal was enough to put her in the running. But one meeting with the force that is Fatou convinced producer Steven Lawrence and Director Maria Gambale that her story could not be told within a 15 minute frame, and the decision was made (along with co-director Gloria Bremer) to create a full length documentary. That film, Sarabah, has gone on to win the Golden Butterfly Award in the Movies that Matter Film Festival.
And now you can see it for yourself, on Link TV. Check it out.
To read the full article on The Huffington Post website, click here
Thursday, January 5, 2012
FGM Campaign Gains Momentum in Central River Region (GAMBIA)
January 3, 2012
Daily Observer (Banjul)
The campaign to eradicate Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) has taken roots in The Gambia through raising awareness and building consciousness amongst the people. The Gambia Committee on Traditional Practices affecting the health of Women and Children (GAMCOTRAP) has recently completed a series of training and information campaign activities held in Janjangbureh, Sami Karantaba Tabokoto and Chamen Nainija, all in the Central River Region north.
About 200 women and men benefited from the workshops funded by the European Union / Non-State Actors project in The Gambia. Addressing participants in the various workshops held, the executive director of Gamcotrap, Dr. Isatou Touray informed participants that Gamcotrap promotes the rights of women and children and engage in social mobilisation to dispel the misconceptions associated with FGM and religion, as well as promote the dignity of women.
The training workshops also gave participants the opportunity to engage on issues of female sexuality and of gender-based violence. They were enlightened on the efforts The Gambia has made to promote the rights of women and children by ratifying the United Nations Conventions and the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People's Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa as well as the national laws on women and children. It was however made clear that there is no specific law to protect girls from FGM at the moment but The Gambia has committed herself under Article 5 of the Women's Protocol to enact a specific law to protect girls and women from FGM.
In Janjangbureh, the chief of Upper Saloum, Malick Mbye said the recommendations from the Local Government Authorities including chiefs, Imams, ward councillors, women leaders and circumcisers calling for a law against female genital mutilation is supported because there is awareness in the region that the practice affects women's reproductive health. "We the chiefs would not have participated in these activities if they are not in the interest of our people," he emphasised.
Speaking on behalf of the circumcisers, Haja Tandi Yaffa, noted that even though FGM is deep-rooted, it is through the series of trainings that they became conscious of the effects it has on women and girls. Like most of her colleagues, they were made to belief that it was a religious injunction. Imam, Cherno Muhamadou Dem of Janjangbureh informed the participants that the practice of FGM is not Farda (obligation) nor Sunnah. He observed that people are now aware that there is no honour in the practice because it affects the health of women.
The vice chairman of Kuntaur Area Council and Ward Councillor for Janjangbureh, Ebrima Janko Foon called on parents to take responsibility to protect girls and women from the practice. The health official at the Janjangbureh Health Centre, Kumba Ceesay called the attention of the participants on the impact of FGM on maternal and infant health. She pledged to include FGM in their health talks during antenatal clinics with nursing mothers.
At Sami Karantaba Health Centre, the officer in charge of the health centre, Dodou Sonko informed participants that they are always faced with challenges to help women and children affected by the effects of FGM. He cited a recent case of a girl who died while on referral to a major hospital due to uncontrolled bleeding caused by the practice of FGM.
Speaking earlier at Karantaba Tabokoto in Sami District, Chief Alhagie Kassum Leigh reiterated that FGM is not a religious issue but a traditional practice. He further informed the participants that the chiefs in the region support the advocacy for a law to protect the rights of women and girls from FGM in The Gambia. One of the renowned circumcisers in Sami, Mbuleh Kandeh of Bayaba assured that she has taken the decision to stop the practice but appealed for support for an alternative livelihood.
At Chamen Nainija cluster, women of reproductive age and mainly from Fula communities from thirteen 13 villages participated in the training. Addressing the participants, Chief Alhaji Alasan Davis Cham called on the women to be aware of the impact of the practice on their reproductive health and that of their daughters. He highlighted that religion can no longer be used to justify the practice because people are now aware and the local authorities including all the chiefs of the region have given their public support to the campaign to stop FGM in the area.
To read the full article on the Daily Observer website, click here
Daily Observer (Banjul)
The campaign to eradicate Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) has taken roots in The Gambia through raising awareness and building consciousness amongst the people. The Gambia Committee on Traditional Practices affecting the health of Women and Children (GAMCOTRAP) has recently completed a series of training and information campaign activities held in Janjangbureh, Sami Karantaba Tabokoto and Chamen Nainija, all in the Central River Region north.
About 200 women and men benefited from the workshops funded by the European Union / Non-State Actors project in The Gambia. Addressing participants in the various workshops held, the executive director of Gamcotrap, Dr. Isatou Touray informed participants that Gamcotrap promotes the rights of women and children and engage in social mobilisation to dispel the misconceptions associated with FGM and religion, as well as promote the dignity of women.
The training workshops also gave participants the opportunity to engage on issues of female sexuality and of gender-based violence. They were enlightened on the efforts The Gambia has made to promote the rights of women and children by ratifying the United Nations Conventions and the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People's Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa as well as the national laws on women and children. It was however made clear that there is no specific law to protect girls from FGM at the moment but The Gambia has committed herself under Article 5 of the Women's Protocol to enact a specific law to protect girls and women from FGM.
In Janjangbureh, the chief of Upper Saloum, Malick Mbye said the recommendations from the Local Government Authorities including chiefs, Imams, ward councillors, women leaders and circumcisers calling for a law against female genital mutilation is supported because there is awareness in the region that the practice affects women's reproductive health. "We the chiefs would not have participated in these activities if they are not in the interest of our people," he emphasised.
Speaking on behalf of the circumcisers, Haja Tandi Yaffa, noted that even though FGM is deep-rooted, it is through the series of trainings that they became conscious of the effects it has on women and girls. Like most of her colleagues, they were made to belief that it was a religious injunction. Imam, Cherno Muhamadou Dem of Janjangbureh informed the participants that the practice of FGM is not Farda (obligation) nor Sunnah. He observed that people are now aware that there is no honour in the practice because it affects the health of women.
The vice chairman of Kuntaur Area Council and Ward Councillor for Janjangbureh, Ebrima Janko Foon called on parents to take responsibility to protect girls and women from the practice. The health official at the Janjangbureh Health Centre, Kumba Ceesay called the attention of the participants on the impact of FGM on maternal and infant health. She pledged to include FGM in their health talks during antenatal clinics with nursing mothers.
At Sami Karantaba Health Centre, the officer in charge of the health centre, Dodou Sonko informed participants that they are always faced with challenges to help women and children affected by the effects of FGM. He cited a recent case of a girl who died while on referral to a major hospital due to uncontrolled bleeding caused by the practice of FGM.
Speaking earlier at Karantaba Tabokoto in Sami District, Chief Alhagie Kassum Leigh reiterated that FGM is not a religious issue but a traditional practice. He further informed the participants that the chiefs in the region support the advocacy for a law to protect the rights of women and girls from FGM in The Gambia. One of the renowned circumcisers in Sami, Mbuleh Kandeh of Bayaba assured that she has taken the decision to stop the practice but appealed for support for an alternative livelihood.
At Chamen Nainija cluster, women of reproductive age and mainly from Fula communities from thirteen 13 villages participated in the training. Addressing the participants, Chief Alhaji Alasan Davis Cham called on the women to be aware of the impact of the practice on their reproductive health and that of their daughters. He highlighted that religion can no longer be used to justify the practice because people are now aware and the local authorities including all the chiefs of the region have given their public support to the campaign to stop FGM in the area.
To read the full article on the Daily Observer website, click here
PAKISTAN: Low awareness of hidden FGM/C practices
December 26, 2012
IRIN Asia
KARACHI, 26 December 2011 (IRIN) - In certain cafés close to medical colleges in Pakistan, and of course within the institutions themselves, students studying gynaecology speak of some unexpected sights they have seen.
“Recently, we examined a woman who complained of pain in her genital region. We were shocked to see when we examined her that she had suffered some mutilation of her private parts. I have read about these practices but I didn’t know they took place here,” Zeba Khan, a 4th year medical student, told IRIN.
Though female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) takes place, the practice is hidden, hardly ever spoken of, barely known about. The country, for instance, is considered to be “free” of FGM/C, like a number of other Muslim majority countries in the region. Indeed, this view is widely held. “No such thing happens here,” Saadia Ahmed, a gynaecologist, told IRIN.
But there is evidence which suggests this widely held view may be inaccurate.
“I can still remember when it happened,” Zehra Ali*, 22, told IRIN. She said soon after her eighth birthday, her mother “gave me a big bowl of ice-cream” and then led her to a spare bedroom where an elderly woman spoke to her kindly, had her lie down on the bed and do “a terrible” thing. Zehra says a small part of her clitoris was quickly snipped off, that she felt “some pain” but mainly a strong sense of being “violated”. She said the episode, which she “never forgot”, causes her problems “now that I am married” and that she needed counselling before she was willing to consent to sex, “for psychological not physical reasons”.
Bohra community
Zehra belongs to the Bohra community, a sect of the majority Muslim population which numbers some 100,000, according to official figures, and is based mainly in the southern province of Sindh. The Bohras are among the few communities practising FGM/C in Pakistan.
Other groups which carry out the mutilation are groups with African or Arab origins, such as the ethnic Sheedi community which numbers several thousand, came to the country originally as slaves during the 19th and 20th centuries, and is based primarily in Sindh. There has been little research on the practice among these groups.
Zehra believes that even today at least 50-60 percent of Bohra women undergo circumcision, involving usually a symbolic snipping of the clitoris. “In the past there was more mutilation, and I think 80-90 percent of women suffered it. More awareness has helped reduce the practice,” she said.
“I have seen females who have suffered `khatna’ as female circumcision is called. Sometimes there is merely a symbolic snipping of some skin, but in some women - especially those who are not so young, there is somewhat more extensive cutting,” said a midwife (she preferred anonymity) in the Tando Muhammad Khan District of Sindh, who has attended to Sheedi women. She said she herself did not perform circumcisions.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), FGM/C “includes procedures that intentionally alter or injure female genital organs for non-medical reasons”. It says an estimated 100-140 million girls and women worldwide are living with FGM/C, 92 million of them in Africa.
“Symbolic” cutting
Shershah Syed, a former president of the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, who devotes his practice to serving deprived women, told the media he had come across cases in urban Pakistan where women have undergone the procedure.
“In Pakistan, with growing awareness [of the effects of FGM/C], they are now doing it merely symbolically, with only a bit of skin being removed. But even so, I find it to be in clear violation of human rights. There is absolutely no scientific evidence supporting any medical benefit of the procedure. In fact, it can lead to health complications,” said Syed.
The WHO lists the string of complications that can arise from the procedure, including repeated infections, cysts, infertility, higher childbirth complications and the need for repeated surgeries.
“In our community, this practice has taken place for generations. The girls nowadays have it done in sterile conditions. It is rarely spoken of. It is just something the women know about and do,” said Raazia*, 60, a member of the Bohra community and a grandmother. She says her granddaughters “will be safely circumcized.”
“The impact is not just on health, it is psychological too. Such practices leave deep scars, and in our country these have not been studied at all, because so little is known about the mutilation of women in this way,” said Aliya Rizvi, a psychologist.
*Not her real name
To read the full article on the IRIN website, click here
IRIN Asia
KARACHI, 26 December 2011 (IRIN) - In certain cafés close to medical colleges in Pakistan, and of course within the institutions themselves, students studying gynaecology speak of some unexpected sights they have seen.
“Recently, we examined a woman who complained of pain in her genital region. We were shocked to see when we examined her that she had suffered some mutilation of her private parts. I have read about these practices but I didn’t know they took place here,” Zeba Khan, a 4th year medical student, told IRIN.
Though female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) takes place, the practice is hidden, hardly ever spoken of, barely known about. The country, for instance, is considered to be “free” of FGM/C, like a number of other Muslim majority countries in the region. Indeed, this view is widely held. “No such thing happens here,” Saadia Ahmed, a gynaecologist, told IRIN.
But there is evidence which suggests this widely held view may be inaccurate.
“I can still remember when it happened,” Zehra Ali*, 22, told IRIN. She said soon after her eighth birthday, her mother “gave me a big bowl of ice-cream” and then led her to a spare bedroom where an elderly woman spoke to her kindly, had her lie down on the bed and do “a terrible” thing. Zehra says a small part of her clitoris was quickly snipped off, that she felt “some pain” but mainly a strong sense of being “violated”. She said the episode, which she “never forgot”, causes her problems “now that I am married” and that she needed counselling before she was willing to consent to sex, “for psychological not physical reasons”.
Bohra community
Zehra belongs to the Bohra community, a sect of the majority Muslim population which numbers some 100,000, according to official figures, and is based mainly in the southern province of Sindh. The Bohras are among the few communities practising FGM/C in Pakistan.
Other groups which carry out the mutilation are groups with African or Arab origins, such as the ethnic Sheedi community which numbers several thousand, came to the country originally as slaves during the 19th and 20th centuries, and is based primarily in Sindh. There has been little research on the practice among these groups.
Zehra believes that even today at least 50-60 percent of Bohra women undergo circumcision, involving usually a symbolic snipping of the clitoris. “In the past there was more mutilation, and I think 80-90 percent of women suffered it. More awareness has helped reduce the practice,” she said.
“I have seen females who have suffered `khatna’ as female circumcision is called. Sometimes there is merely a symbolic snipping of some skin, but in some women - especially those who are not so young, there is somewhat more extensive cutting,” said a midwife (she preferred anonymity) in the Tando Muhammad Khan District of Sindh, who has attended to Sheedi women. She said she herself did not perform circumcisions.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), FGM/C “includes procedures that intentionally alter or injure female genital organs for non-medical reasons”. It says an estimated 100-140 million girls and women worldwide are living with FGM/C, 92 million of them in Africa.
“Symbolic” cutting
Shershah Syed, a former president of the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, who devotes his practice to serving deprived women, told the media he had come across cases in urban Pakistan where women have undergone the procedure.
“In Pakistan, with growing awareness [of the effects of FGM/C], they are now doing it merely symbolically, with only a bit of skin being removed. But even so, I find it to be in clear violation of human rights. There is absolutely no scientific evidence supporting any medical benefit of the procedure. In fact, it can lead to health complications,” said Syed.
The WHO lists the string of complications that can arise from the procedure, including repeated infections, cysts, infertility, higher childbirth complications and the need for repeated surgeries.
“In our community, this practice has taken place for generations. The girls nowadays have it done in sterile conditions. It is rarely spoken of. It is just something the women know about and do,” said Raazia*, 60, a member of the Bohra community and a grandmother. She says her granddaughters “will be safely circumcized.”
“The impact is not just on health, it is psychological too. Such practices leave deep scars, and in our country these have not been studied at all, because so little is known about the mutilation of women in this way,” said Aliya Rizvi, a psychologist.
*Not her real name
To read the full article on the IRIN website, click here
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Ban Ki-moon urges governments to combat female genital mutilation
November 29, 2011
International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics
Alexandra George
United Nations secretary general Ban Ki-moon has called on governments around the world to fight violence against women, including female genital mutilation. The official stated brutality experienced by the gender is a major barrier to equality and is usually committed by men.
As well as female genital mutilation, women are the subject of rape, abuse at work and school, sexual attacks at times of war and domestic violence - issues that Mr Ban's UNiTE to End Violence against Women campaign was set up to fight in 2008.
"Our challenge is to ensure that the message of 'zero tolerance' is heard far and wide," he said on Friday (November 25th), which was the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women
He called on governments to "harness the energy, ideas and leadership of young people", who he argued are key to preventing continued brutality by driving a change in attitudes in newer generations.
"Only then will we have a more just, peaceful and equitable world," Mr Ban claimed.
Female genital mutilation is a widespread problem, which mapping company Maplecroft's latest Women's and Girls' Rights Index showed affects up to 90 per cent of individuals of this gender in some countries.
To read the full article on the FIGO website, click here
International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics
Alexandra George
United Nations secretary general Ban Ki-moon has called on governments around the world to fight violence against women, including female genital mutilation. The official stated brutality experienced by the gender is a major barrier to equality and is usually committed by men.
As well as female genital mutilation, women are the subject of rape, abuse at work and school, sexual attacks at times of war and domestic violence - issues that Mr Ban's UNiTE to End Violence against Women campaign was set up to fight in 2008.
"Our challenge is to ensure that the message of 'zero tolerance' is heard far and wide," he said on Friday (November 25th), which was the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women
He called on governments to "harness the energy, ideas and leadership of young people", who he argued are key to preventing continued brutality by driving a change in attitudes in newer generations.
"Only then will we have a more just, peaceful and equitable world," Mr Ban claimed.
Female genital mutilation is a widespread problem, which mapping company Maplecroft's latest Women's and Girls' Rights Index showed affects up to 90 per cent of individuals of this gender in some countries.
To read the full article on the FIGO website, click here
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Sister Fa awarded the 2011 Freedom to Create Prize
November 21, 2011
BizCommunity.com
Sister Fa, an internationally renowned female rap artist from Senegal, who has devoted her work to raising awareness on the dangers of female genital cutting, was awarded the 2011 Freedom to Create Prize, yesterday 20 November 2011 at an awards ceremony and concert at the Kirstenbosch Gardens in Cape Town, South Africa.
Announcing the winner at the awards ceremony, Freedom to Create spokesperson Priti Devi said, "We applaud the courage of Sister Fa and admire the creative use of her music to speak out against a practice that infringes on the basic human dignity and rights of women and girls. Sister Fa is an inspiring example of the transformative power of the arts to affect real change in the world."
"Sister Fa is a powerful example of how many artists around the world are using their talent to be the voice of courage in their community, standing up for social justice and in defense of human dignity." Devi added.
Sister Fa received the award from the guest of honour, 2011 Freedom to Create Prize judge, author and chief executive of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, Achmat Dangor.
Music - a powerful tool
On receiving the award, Sister Fa commented, "The Freedom to Create Prize has given me the opportunity to further raise awareness of the traumatic and harmful consequences of this widely practiced tradition. In Africa, if you play any music in an open space, people generally come to listen to your music. It is a powerful tool to reach out to people, to bring them together. I believe in using my music to help the young people - who are the future of Senegal - to understand that they are not alone and that we can rise together to create a movement for social change."
The prize is a US$100 000 award, which is divided across two categories - Main and Imprisoned Artists, and was established in 2008 to celebrate artists who use their talents to promote social justice and inspire the human spirit. This year, the prize attracted 2 051 entries from over 145 countries, including 56 from South Africa.
Other winners
First runner-up of the main prize was presented by the Mayor of Cape Town Patricia de Lille, to Ayat Al-Gormezi, a 20 year old poet and student at the Faculty of Teachers in Bahrain, who was put on trial and detained for merely expressing her opinion peacefully and openly. Her bravery and willingness to take a risk in the struggle for justice has raised awareness of the numerous women imprisoned in Bahrain.
Receiving the award on behalf of Ayat, who is faced with a travel ban, her brother Mohamed Hasan Yusuf said, "I am very grateful for this recognition of my sister's courage by Freedom to Create. Ayat's call for justice was no more radical than that heard on the streets of Tunis, Cairo and Benghazi at the same time, but her severe punishment has been one of the most sinister attacks on free speech in recent times. The Freedom to Create Prize has provided Ayat with a global platform to continue using her creativity to demand justice and equal rights for all in Bahrain."
Ramy Essam, the "singer of the Egyptian revolution", was the second runner up for the main prize. Essam spent 18 days in Tahrir Square in Cairo, writing music and performing songs to motivate the protesters, risking his life and suffering threats and attacks from the military police, but refusing to leave until Mubarak's regime collapsed.
Essam said, "Having witnessed the corrupt practices during Mubarak's regime, I felt incredibly strongly about the need to speak up against such corruption. I felt a sense of responsibility to the people who risked their lives to protest on the streets of Cairo. Through my songs, I captured the fear, optimism and defiant demand for change that was sweeping across the country, allowing the rest of the world to witness our revolution. The Freedom to Create Prize has inspired me to continue to use music as a voice for those who cannot speak up for themselves."
Music also featured strongly in the Imprisoned Artist Prize category with Win Maw, one of Burma's most famous musicians, being awarded the US$25 000 prize. Win Maw contributed his musical talent to the award-winning documentary 'Burma VJ'. Win Maw expresses the political views of the Burmese people with his music, which provides a rallying point for the masses during the numerous political upheavals in Myanmar. He is a leading exponent of artists giving voice to democratic movements for social change.
The singer and human rights activist Win Maw has been imprisoned in Myanmar (formerly Burma) since 2008. In 2009 he was sentenced to further ten years imprisonment - an addition to the eight year sentence he received in 2008. The 2011 Imprisoned Artist Prize was presented by the Sudanese theatre activist, Ali Mahdi Nouri, winner of the 2010 Freedom to Create prize.
Receiving the award on behalf of Win Maw, his representative Aung Thwin said, "Despite the risks to his personal safety, Win Maw continues to inspire young artists with his music even from prison. He was beaten and tortured during the early stages of his detention, accused of being the mastermind behind the in-country news coverage of the September 2007 monk-led uprising. Win's arrest has brought pain and struggle to his family, wife and children. His wife now shoulders the responsibility for the children's education and the family's survival."
"The Freedom to Create Prize has given Win Maw and his family the platform to continue using his music to strive for democracy and freedom for all imprisoned artists around the world, and advocate for his release from prison", he added.
Congratulating Win Maw, Burma's pro-democracy leader and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi shared this message with the audience at the Freedom to Create concert in a specially recorded video. "It is a matter of pride for us that the Freedom to Create Imprisoned Artist award has been won by a Burmese this year. It is also a matter of sadness for us because it means that our artists are imprisoned for their beliefs, they are prisoners of conscience."
"Artists help to create more beauty in this world to open our eyes to aspects of our life that otherwise we may not have noticed. To imprison them for their beliefs, their ideas, is to make our world narrower. I know Win Maw personally and I've always appreciated his dedication to music. I hope that it will not be long before Win Maw himself will be able to come to thank Freedom to Create personally for the support that you've given him during his time of need", added Suu Kyi.
To read the full article on the BizCommunity website, click here
BizCommunity.com
Sister Fa, an internationally renowned female rap artist from Senegal, who has devoted her work to raising awareness on the dangers of female genital cutting, was awarded the 2011 Freedom to Create Prize, yesterday 20 November 2011 at an awards ceremony and concert at the Kirstenbosch Gardens in Cape Town, South Africa.
Announcing the winner at the awards ceremony, Freedom to Create spokesperson Priti Devi said, "We applaud the courage of Sister Fa and admire the creative use of her music to speak out against a practice that infringes on the basic human dignity and rights of women and girls. Sister Fa is an inspiring example of the transformative power of the arts to affect real change in the world."
"Sister Fa is a powerful example of how many artists around the world are using their talent to be the voice of courage in their community, standing up for social justice and in defense of human dignity." Devi added.
Sister Fa received the award from the guest of honour, 2011 Freedom to Create Prize judge, author and chief executive of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, Achmat Dangor.
Music - a powerful tool
On receiving the award, Sister Fa commented, "The Freedom to Create Prize has given me the opportunity to further raise awareness of the traumatic and harmful consequences of this widely practiced tradition. In Africa, if you play any music in an open space, people generally come to listen to your music. It is a powerful tool to reach out to people, to bring them together. I believe in using my music to help the young people - who are the future of Senegal - to understand that they are not alone and that we can rise together to create a movement for social change."
The prize is a US$100 000 award, which is divided across two categories - Main and Imprisoned Artists, and was established in 2008 to celebrate artists who use their talents to promote social justice and inspire the human spirit. This year, the prize attracted 2 051 entries from over 145 countries, including 56 from South Africa.
Other winners
First runner-up of the main prize was presented by the Mayor of Cape Town Patricia de Lille, to Ayat Al-Gormezi, a 20 year old poet and student at the Faculty of Teachers in Bahrain, who was put on trial and detained for merely expressing her opinion peacefully and openly. Her bravery and willingness to take a risk in the struggle for justice has raised awareness of the numerous women imprisoned in Bahrain.
Receiving the award on behalf of Ayat, who is faced with a travel ban, her brother Mohamed Hasan Yusuf said, "I am very grateful for this recognition of my sister's courage by Freedom to Create. Ayat's call for justice was no more radical than that heard on the streets of Tunis, Cairo and Benghazi at the same time, but her severe punishment has been one of the most sinister attacks on free speech in recent times. The Freedom to Create Prize has provided Ayat with a global platform to continue using her creativity to demand justice and equal rights for all in Bahrain."
Ramy Essam, the "singer of the Egyptian revolution", was the second runner up for the main prize. Essam spent 18 days in Tahrir Square in Cairo, writing music and performing songs to motivate the protesters, risking his life and suffering threats and attacks from the military police, but refusing to leave until Mubarak's regime collapsed.
Essam said, "Having witnessed the corrupt practices during Mubarak's regime, I felt incredibly strongly about the need to speak up against such corruption. I felt a sense of responsibility to the people who risked their lives to protest on the streets of Cairo. Through my songs, I captured the fear, optimism and defiant demand for change that was sweeping across the country, allowing the rest of the world to witness our revolution. The Freedom to Create Prize has inspired me to continue to use music as a voice for those who cannot speak up for themselves."
Music also featured strongly in the Imprisoned Artist Prize category with Win Maw, one of Burma's most famous musicians, being awarded the US$25 000 prize. Win Maw contributed his musical talent to the award-winning documentary 'Burma VJ'. Win Maw expresses the political views of the Burmese people with his music, which provides a rallying point for the masses during the numerous political upheavals in Myanmar. He is a leading exponent of artists giving voice to democratic movements for social change.
The singer and human rights activist Win Maw has been imprisoned in Myanmar (formerly Burma) since 2008. In 2009 he was sentenced to further ten years imprisonment - an addition to the eight year sentence he received in 2008. The 2011 Imprisoned Artist Prize was presented by the Sudanese theatre activist, Ali Mahdi Nouri, winner of the 2010 Freedom to Create prize.
Receiving the award on behalf of Win Maw, his representative Aung Thwin said, "Despite the risks to his personal safety, Win Maw continues to inspire young artists with his music even from prison. He was beaten and tortured during the early stages of his detention, accused of being the mastermind behind the in-country news coverage of the September 2007 monk-led uprising. Win's arrest has brought pain and struggle to his family, wife and children. His wife now shoulders the responsibility for the children's education and the family's survival."
"The Freedom to Create Prize has given Win Maw and his family the platform to continue using his music to strive for democracy and freedom for all imprisoned artists around the world, and advocate for his release from prison", he added.
Congratulating Win Maw, Burma's pro-democracy leader and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi shared this message with the audience at the Freedom to Create concert in a specially recorded video. "It is a matter of pride for us that the Freedom to Create Imprisoned Artist award has been won by a Burmese this year. It is also a matter of sadness for us because it means that our artists are imprisoned for their beliefs, they are prisoners of conscience."
"Artists help to create more beauty in this world to open our eyes to aspects of our life that otherwise we may not have noticed. To imprison them for their beliefs, their ideas, is to make our world narrower. I know Win Maw personally and I've always appreciated his dedication to music. I hope that it will not be long before Win Maw himself will be able to come to thank Freedom to Create personally for the support that you've given him during his time of need", added Suu Kyi.
To read the full article on the BizCommunity website, click here
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