Turning up the volume: female genital cutting and music

March 19, 2012
RuthieT
Orchid Project

Three empowered and dynamic voices of today’s music scene have been using the power of their musical talents to reach out to thousands of people and raise awareness about female genital cutting. With unwavering voices, they are calling for international attention and change at the grassroots level. And, with vibrant, popular music on their side, people are listening. We take a look at our top three musical ambassadors for ending FGC.

Sister Fa

Sister Fa is a Senegalese hip-hop and urban soul artist and recent recipient of the prestigious ‘Freedom to Create’ Prize. She raises awareness about FGC in Europe and the UK and performs extensively in Senegal in order to engage local young people around this important issue. Her tour ‘Education sans Excision’ (Education without Cutting), is set to begin its third phase when she returns to Senegal this coming May with the support of Orchid Project. Sister Fa and her band will travel across the country – holding concerts, working with local artists, speaking on radio and television shows, and running school workshops. Through these efforts, Sister Fa expects to spread her message to over 15,000 young people.

Herself a cut woman, Sister Fa’s history and music hits a nerve amongst Senegalese youth. Young people not only feel as though they can relate to Sister Fa’s story, but they can also connect with the magnetic sound of her music. Her home village, Thionck Essyl, has now officially abandoned FGC largely thanks to Sister Fa’s previous tours and efforts in Senegal.

Her charisma on and off stage demonstrates the power of musicians to speak out loudly for social change. Sister Fa is a strong, inspiring role model for girls who want to grow up free from FGC. She has been called ‘game-changing, taboo-breaking and inspiring’. It is her vivacity and fearlessness to speak about a unspoken issue to a generation which make Sister Fa the perfect candidate to take on FGC in her home country.

Caroline Henderson

Recently listed as one of the most powerful black women in Europe, jazz singer Caroline Henderson is also raising her elegant voice in support of the cause. A UNICEF Ambassador for Denmark, Henderson strives to raise international awareness about violence against children. After earning critical acclaim in 2007 by winning the Danish Grammy for best recording, Henderson started headlining campaign events. During the ‘Day of the African Child’ celebration in Mozambique in June 2010, Henderson’s voice rang out alongside Mozambique’s top artists in advocating for children’s rights.

Returning to Denmark, Caroline Henderson took the issue of FGC in her stride. “Violence against children can be physical, sexual and emotional, and should be prevented by all means,” Henderson once explained. Working alongside Orchid Project Denmark Association, Henderson headlined a benefit concert in Copenhagen on International Day against female genital cutting this year. The event was attended by over 500 people. The audience were treated to a truly special evening as Caroline Henderson’s rhythmic melodies and powerful lyrics dazzled and inspired. Her voice has found a place in the international arena, and her words have brought much needed attention to the neglected issue.

Angelique Kidjo

In our list of motivating musicians, Beninoise singer-songwriter and activist Angelique Kidjo most definitely deserves a place. A UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador since 2002, Kidjo has been listed by BBC as one of the African continent’s 50 most iconic figures, and one of the 40 most powerful celebrities in Africa by Forbes magazine. Kidjo is particularly passionate about the rights and wellbeing of women and girls. In 2009, in cooperation with the International Federation of Human Rights, Kidjo launched a campaign entitled ‘Africafor women’s rights.’ Since this time, she has been working to gain support and funding for girls’ education, maternal health, and the end of FGC.

At the Commission on the Status of Women held between February 27th and March 9th in New York City, Angelique Kidjo created a unique concert entitled ‘Raise Your Voice to End Female Genital Mutilation,’ with support from the Italian Mission, UNFPA, and UNICEF. The event was held in the packed United Nations General Assembly Hall at the UN Headquarters, where an estimated 2,500 NGO representatives and delegation members were in attendance.

The General Assembly Hall was never so alive. Hands clapping, audience members raised their voices alongside Kidjo’s, calling for an end to the practice. “What I want to try to do… is to pledge and to convince all nations of the United Nations to sign a resolution to ban the practice of female genital mutilation…We cannot live in a modern society with FGM still around!”Kidjo explained.

Listen to Angelique Kidjo’s concert at the UN Commission on the Status of Women from February 2012.

Music unites people

Music has a way of uniting people. We often feel empowered and motivated through song. Sister Fa, Caroline Henderson, and Angelique Kidjo have not only inspired interest in this critical issue from the grassroots to the international levels, but they have also fostered a sense of solidarity among us. Today, more than ever, we stand united in a common goal: to create a world free from female genital cutting. These three women are helping to make this world possible, and we thank them for that.

And watch this space – we are hotly tipping Malian born Fatoumata Diawara who has raised her voice to speak up against FGC, and just last week were sent this song by Kenyan hip-hop artist MC Kibo – it’s just as vital that men are singing up and speaking out about ending female genital cutting, too.

To read the full story on Orchid Project's website, click here

Kenya: Kisii NGO Vows to Stop FGM

March 16, 2012
Benson Nyagesiba,
Nairobi Star

A non-governmental organisation in Kisii will intensify campaigns against the outlawed FGM.

Stema Women Development Group is carrying out campaign to sensitise young girls to reject the practice and opt for alternative rites of passage. The organisation's chief programme officer Nyabuto Onyambu said there is need to strengthen the education of the girl child to enable her understand her rights.

Speaking to the press in his office Onyambu said outdated cultures like FGM are a violation of the rights of a girl child saying such practices must be eradicated from society at all costs. "We are not saying all cultures are bad, but what we want to eradicate FGM and embrace others rites of passage," he said.

He urged concerted effort by all stakeholders to curb the practice which is rampant in the area. He said the provincial administration and the police should arrest those found encouraging the practice. "The education of a girl child must be taken serious because it is through it that they will be fully aware of their rights and the health effects of undergoing through the practice," Onyambu added.

To read the full article on the AllAfrica,com website, click here

FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION IS A VIOLATION OF WOMEN’S RIGHT; Says Gamcotrap Programme Coordinator

March 15, 2012
Sarjo Camara Singhateh
FOROYAA Online

During the celebration by European Delegation to the Gambia at the Alliance Francais Gambienne, the GAMCOTRAP Programme Coordinator, Amie Bojang-Sissoho , the guest speaker at the International Women’s Day delivered a paper on Female Genital Mutilation in the Context of Women’s Rights in the Gambia.

“It is another important day to bring attention to the situation of women in different parts of the world. We need to reflect upon the lives of rural women and how we inspire girls for a brighter and better future. Women and girls are exposed to many vices that affect their rights as females, one of which is Female Genital Mutilation – FGM. Therefore I would like to bring our attention to the issues of FGM in the context of Women’s Rights in the Gambia,” She stated“
In 2011 alone, using the Cluster Approach, 2,730 men, women and youths participated in 39 activities GAMCOTRAP had conducted, she said. She said thirty-two (32) of these activities were conducted outside the Kanifing Municipality and most of them in remote, rural and semi-urban areas of The Gambia where the prevalence of the practice is high”. She narrated that more importantly, over 80% of them called for a law to protect girls from FGM. “The advocacy for a law has gone far and GAMCOTRAP has been capturing the voices in a Draft proposal for a law against FGM taking into account the recommendations coming from the rural women in particular”. And this document is being drafted and will be submitted to the relevant Government institutions to take it to the next step,” she said. 
GAMCOTRAP Programme Coordinator, Amie Bojang-Sissoho said the Gambia government is saluted for observing this day moreso for ensuring that the Gambia enacts laws to protect Children and Women’s rights. 
“The Children’s Act 2005 and the Women’s Act 2010 are in the right direction to protect and promote the rights of women and girl-children”, Amie said. 
“For twenty-eight years, efforts are being made to understand FGM in the context of women’s rights. One must first of all accept that women have rights and the bodily integrity is one of such rights, which FGM affects. The context of women’s rights starts with the rights of the girl-child and it is the responsibility of the State to protect the rights of its entire citizenry and in this case the rights of women and children from FGM.” She asserted. 
Amie mentioned that there is resistance from some religious leaders who oppose the campaign to raise awareness that FGM is not a Religious obligation and women’s rights issues in general especially, if it is directed at empowerment of women. Some of them she said have influence over the public media, both TV and radio while Women’s Rights organizations fighting against FGM and promoting the rights of women are denied similar opportunities. “Yet most of these people in authority will call for the education of the masses and raising awareness. It should be acknowledged that while educating the people on women’s rights, the public media has an important role to play in providing equal access and opportunities to activists in raising the issues and responding to the debates.” Mrs Sissoho observed that it is through dialogue and debates on social issues that we educate each other on the rights of women and thus influence change of perceptions and attitudes towards women.
She stated that despite the resistance in the public media, direct community outreach has proven to be positive. NGOs have responded to the call to raise the awareness of people and a lot has been done in that area. Mass consciousness has increased about the negative impact FGM has on the sexual and reproductive health rights of women and children. 
“In our community outreach activities, she said, FGM is situated in the context of women’s rights and we raise the consciousness of rural women in particular to realize that:
FGM is a Culture practice and that cultural practices can change when people realize that they outlived their value;
FGM is a not a religious obligation (Farda nor Sunnah) for Muslim Women; FGM affects the Health of Women and Children; FGM Violates the bodily rights and sexuality of women; FGM is Violence against Women and Children and Allah the Creator of the women’s body designed it for a purpose and it should be left intact for such functions”.
“Understanding the dynamics of the decision making processes, GAMCOTRAP takes the Cluster approach in which communities who share cultural ties with the same circumcisers are brought together to reach consensus to protect their girl-children. This approach made it possible for representatives from 564 communities in three regions to support their Circumcisers to stop the practice of FGM.” 
She pointed out that raising consciousness amongst rural women has over the years led to three ‘Dropping of the Knife’ celebrations and the most recent was in 2011 and it took place in the Lower River Region. “To date, GAMCOTRAP has recorded ninety-eight Circumcisers that have dropped their knives and have been supported with grants to engage in alternative livelihood strategies we called Alternative Employment Opportunities - AEO to earn small income instead of cutting girls. They have been recognized for other important roles they play in ensuring social cohesion and development of their communities.” She noted 
GAMCOTRAP Programme Coordinator, Amie Bojang-Sissoho continued to say that, girl-children and women are not completely protected by the laws of the Gambia against FGM; that despite the fact that the Gambia has ratified and domesticated most International and Regional Conventions and Protocols, the legal protection of girls and women from the practice of FGM has been removed from both the Children and Women’s Acts; thus making the ratification of the Protocol to the African Charter in particular irrelevant to the commitments of The Gambia. 
GAMCOTRAP Programme Coordinator, Amie Bojang-Sissoho in her key note address noted that the role of NGOs is to advocate; that it is the responsibility of the Government to ensure that laws and policies are in place and in this case, there is a specific call for a law to ban FGM in the Gambia. There is no need for ambiguity about FGM and hiding it under the general guise of ‘harmful traditional practices’. It should be specific just like early and force marriage or rape has been clearly mentioned in the laws of the Gambia. Not mentioning FGM underrates its importance in the development agenda.
“The challenges in addressing FGM in the context of Women’s Rights are not only denying access to the public media, but even Women’s Human Rights Defenders are being put at risk to silence them. It is time that the government takes stock on how its policies on women and children are being challenged by the very institutions that are supposed to contribute to their effective implementation,” She stated 
“Let me give an example of a recent situation justifying the need for a law against FGM. This year, 44 girls were subjected to FGM in a particular community and two of them bled profusely and ended up in Bansang hospital, the girls suffered. The parents did not want to take the girls to the hospital but when they realized it was not the witches but the loss of blood, they had no choice but to seek help from the hospital,” she said. Amie Bojang-Sissoho noted that when the cases were eventually reported, FGM was not mentioned as the root cause because of fear to be punished by law. It was reported that Malaria was the cause of the anaemia.” Many of such cases make it difficult to get the statistics on the direct immediate impact of FGM on girls. She also said the difficulties of child birth are not immediately recognized by most of the health workers as having something to do with the scars and in some cases keliod caused by FGM.” She stated.
“If the adults of today are to inspire girls in the future, she opined that we have to take responsibility to protect the women of tomorrow, who are the girls of today. The girls of today she said have to be inspired to say no to FGM and defend their rights. Without being pessimistic, let us celebrate the gains made so far and build on them” the GAMCOTRAP Programme Coordinator, Amie Bojang Sisoho concludes.

To read the full article on the FORAYAA website, click here

Women’s Month Spotlight: Angelique Kidjo Raises Her Voice to End FGM

March 14, 2012
Chevelle Dixon
Africa.com

Recently, I had to pleasure of attending the United Nations' Raise Your Voice To End Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) Benefit Concert, featuring UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Angelique Kidjo. Noted by Forbes as one of the most powerful celebrities in Africa, the Grammy-Award winning artist has been a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador since 2002. Kidjo is a native of Benin and the founder of the Batonga Foundation, a Washington D.C.-based charity which funds and empowers education for young African women.

The concert the was presented by the Permanent Mission of Italy to the United Nations in cooperation with the Department of Public Information, UNFPA, and UNICEF. Female genital mutilation refers to all procedures involving partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 100-140 million women and girls around the world have experienced the procedure, including 92 million in Africa. Approximately three million girls and women each year (8,000 a day) is at risk of mutilation or cutting. According to WHO, FGM is practiced in 28 countries in Africa, in parts of the Middle East, and within some immigrant communities in North America and Europe. Italy made FGM illegal, once having an issue with FGM amongst its immigrant community, and is pushing for a resolution to be passed at the UN this year.

The concert celebrated the strides made collectively by UN programs, African communities to end FGM, and by governments to take solid legal and policy action in favor of total abandonment of the practice. According to UNFPA and UNICEF 2011 findings, approximately 2,000 African communities have abandoned female genital mutilation or cutting (FGM/C), bringing the total of communities renouncing the practice to 8,000 over the last few years. The primary attendees of this concert were UN country delegates, who sat on the main floor while I watched overhead in the balcony.

If you have yet to see Angelique Kidjo in concert, you must know the she is her own back-up singer and dancer. She is a true artist! Shed belted out some of my favorites such as “Malaika” and “Afrikia,” and a new favorite song, "Petit Flor," which Kidjo’s father used to sing to her in French. Kidjo dedicated "Petit Flor," as she said, “to all those young little girls that are being born at the very moment that we are talking, for them to bloom without care without mutilation, but in freedom, laughter, health and education.”

My favorite part of the concert was the middle, when Kidjo stopped and addressed the crowd stating her mission:

Tonight is not just a regular concert of Angelique Kidjo; it’s a concert that I want to dedicate to all the little girls and women of the world that suffer from FGM. I’m born in Africa, and raised in Africa…. and I have been going around the world, talking to people through this microphone, empowering every single human being because we individually and collectively have the power to change the world. Today I’m hear to let you know, and to tell you, that the resolution has to be passed.

Kidjo excited the pan-Africanist in me, when she spoke further of her pride in being African and the role of Africans must play in addressing dangerous cultural practices,

We Africans, we can deal with our own problems. We can find solutions to it. And I always said, everywhere I go, ‘Don’t speak for me because I’m African. I have a brain. I can use it. Thank you’. If I stand tall and defend my continent and my culture so well, it's because growing up in Benin has showed me that being a girl, is not only being a daughter of a father or somebody else’s wife. I am a human being before all. We have the duty of preserving the next generation, and I know we can with the help of our friends…that really think the best for us and give us the freedom to do whatever we want to do. Let’s take that freedom and let’s take this opportunity to show the world that we Africans can make long-lasting decisions for ourselves. It’s about time that we play hardball and big ball with everybody else. I know we can, we surely can. And please let’s do this. I’m too proud of my continent to walk with my head down ashamed of not having an answer for this call tonight.

UNFPA-UNICEF joint programs on FGM uses a culturally sensitive human rights-based approach to promote local abandonment of the practice irrespective of religious or cultural beliefs. According to the UNFPA report, Kenya is has made a significant dropping rates of FGM in women aged 15-49 of 15.8 percent from 2003-2008. In September 2011, Kenya’s parliament passed the bill Female Genital Mutilation Bill, making it illegal to practice FGM. The bill proposes a jail sentence and fine, including a provision for a life sentence should an offender kill a woman in the act. Other African countries that stepped up against the practice of FGM include Burkina Faso, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Gambia, Senegal, Kenya, Somalia, Egypt, Mauritania, Senegal, Mali, Guinea, and Guinea-Bissau.

I felt a sense of pride to usher in Women’s Month with a concert where Ms. Angelique Kidjo raised her voice to end FGM and reminded me of the continuing struggles of women worldwide. As Women’s Month progresses, let’s continue to highlight the impact of African women on women-specific issues.

Check out the entire concert on the U.N.'s website.


To read the full article on the Africa.com blog, please click here

INTERNATIONAL: Universal Ban on FGM is a Goal Within Close Reach

March 9, 2012

Khady Koita and Figa Talamanca  

Daily Monitor

Yesterday, the world observed International Women’s Day, celebrating women’s achievements throughout history and throughout the world. This day is also an appropriate occasion to remember the gaps hindering – sometimes in a brutal and cruel manner – the process towards the full recognition and protection of women’s rights.

Worldwide, millions of women and girls still live with the threat or consequences of harmful traditional practices that violate their fundamental right to physical integrity. Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is among these violations, and it too frequently goes unchallenged under the pretext of respect for cultural norms. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), it is estimated that more than 3 million girls and women are subjected to the practice each year and between 100 and 140 million are estimated to have undergone FGM.

Over the past decade, thanks to the long-standing dedication of women’s rights advocates and the increasing political commitment shown by affected states, significant and encouraging progress has been made.

As of today, 20 African countries have enacted national legislation that prohibits and penalises FGM; the African Union has taken a strong position condemning the practice through its Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa, which bans FGM as a violation of human rights; and many governments are implementing national action plans that, in conjunction with the law, provide information and awareness campaigns, especially in rural areas where the practice is more widespread.

Nevertheless, many challenges remain, hampering a coordinated effort to rid the world of this blatant human rights violation, which needs to be addressed by global political leadership if we are to consign it once and for all to the history books where it belongs.

To respond to this challenge, an ever-expanding coalition, composed of No Peace Without Justice, the Inter-African Committee on Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children, Euronet-FGM, and the NGOs La Palabre and Manifesto 99, have spearheaded efforts of an international campaign to promote the adoption by the UN General Assembly (UNGA) of a Resolution that universally and explicitly bans FGM.  

A UNGA Resolution could be a pivotal instrument to spur greater and more cohesive political mobilisation worldwide. Critically, a UNGA ban would express political will at the highest level to recognise– and ensure the adoption of all measures to bring an end to–FGM as a human rights violation against millions of women and girls around the world.

This is a shift that women’s rights advocates have tenaciously worked towards over the past two decades. While strengthening the importance of previous UN texts aimed at protecting women’s rights, the international community’s universal condemnation of this harmful practice would serve to strengthen existing laws that ban FGM and provide new impetus for those states that currently do not have such laws on their books.

In July 2011, at the African Union Summit in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, African heads of state adopted a decision in support of a resolution banning FGM at the 66th Session of the United Nations General Assembly. This historic moment provided a significant impetus to the campaign, which has been growing since a high-level conference in Ouagadougou in December 2009, held under the patronage of Ms Chantal Compaoré, First Lady of Burkina Faso and coordinator of the International Campaign to Ban FGM Worldwide.

Discussions at the African Union have also intensified, spurring similar discussions at the UN. Burkina Faso, a leader in efforts to end FGM, has redoubled its efforts. On February 27, at the 56th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women, a high-level parallel event convened by the Ban FGM Coalition provided further substantial confirmation of the strong commitment by African States to support the process.

The meeting, opened by Executive Director of UN Women, Michelle Bachelet, had as its keynote speaker Ms Compaoré, and included speeches by seven ministers (Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea, Italy, Niger, Togo, Tunisia). A clear message was delivered: the UN and its members need to take responsibility and heed to the voices of the innumerable human rights groups, women’s associations and individual advocates that fight a daily battle to challenge this harmful practice and work towards its elimination.

Grammy-award winning singer Angelique Kidjo, a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, picked up the message and urged the UNGA to swiftly adopt a Resolution at her concert in support of the fight to end FGM on February 28. The time has come for all states to demonstrate their commitment to human rights and, particularly, the human rights of women, by taking an unequivocal and joint stance in favour of the adoption this year by the United Nations General Assembly of a resolution banning FGM worldwide.

Khady Koïta is president of the Senegalese NGO “La Palabre”. Niccolo’ Figa-Talamanca, secretary general of No Peace Without Justice, co-authored this article

To read the full article on the Make Every Woman Count website, click here

Beating female genital mutilation 'will take education not activism'

March 13, 2012 

Paul Robertson

International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics

Lowering the numbers of women and girls subjected to female genital mutilation (FGM) across the world requires further education among communities that practice the procedure.

This is according to Dr Bintu Adamu, a spokesperson for the International Campaign Against Female Genital Mutilation (CAGeM), who said the projects run by the organisation approach people in one-to-one settings, which is preferred to larger events.

"We cannot make a community publicly denounce a tradition of several thousand years unless they know exactly how it is harming them," he explained.

"The decision to abandon FGM is as much a personal one as it is a communal one," the expert added.

CAGeM is run by physicians and volunteers and has successfully launched campaigns in 382 villages in West Africa.

The body joins up with the government and other charities to tackle the socio-cultural environment around female genital mutilation in the hope of reducing the social pressure to cut girls.

Another successful group fighting the harmful tradition is Tostan, the approach of which Julia Lalla-Maharajh, founder of UK charity Orchid, recently told British national newspaper the Independent should be encouraged because it involves both men and women in the fight to change views about the practice.

Posted by Paul Robertson 

To read the full article on the FIGO website, click here

EU project saves thousands of girls from female genital mutilation

March 6, 2012
Reliefweb

Brussels, 06 March 2012 - An innovative EU and UNICEF project has helped thousands of families, communities and countries to change attitudes and end harmful traditional practices like female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) in Africa, says a report on the EU funded project ahead of International Women's Day. As a result of education and awareness raising, girls in thousands of communities in Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Senegal and Sudan are no longer subjected to this practice.

In Senegal, where 28% of women aged 15-49 have undergone female genital mutilation/cutting, astonishing progress has been made. In just under a decade, over 5,300 communities have abandoned the practice, bringing the country close to becoming the first in the world to declare total abandonment, expected by 2015.

In Egypt, where 91% of women are affected by the practice, the project has also made some progress, with female genital mutilation/cutting becoming less common amongst younger age groups. The number of families signing up to the abandonment of the practice also increased substantially: from 3,000 in 2007 to 17,772 in 2011. In Ethiopia, despite high prevalence rates, the practice is similarly declining (between 2000 and 2005 rates dropped from 80 to 74%).

The project helped to raise awareness of the dangers of female genital mutilation/cutting, by encouraging large-scale community discussions and national debate on issues of human rights, as well as collective decision-making through extended social networks about gender norms. This method resulted in communities coming together for district-wide public declarations of the abandonment of these practices.

Development Commissioner, Andris Piebalgs, welcomed the results:

"I find it totally unacceptable that in the 21st century, this practice, which is a clear violation of human rights, is still taking place. That is why I am so pleased to see that EU aid can make a real difference. By raising awareness on the dangers of female genital mutilation/ cutting at grassroots level, we have helped to provide young women across Africa with an alternative, as well as giving them the chance to become an active part of their own communities in the future."

Background In many African countries, female genital mutilation/cutting is a centuries-old custom, believed to make girls marriageable.

Estimates show that up to 140 million girls and women have undergone some form of female genital mutilation/cutting and are living with painful complications. Each year around three million girls – 8,000 a day – suffer the results of it. The practice occurs in African countries, and some countries in the Middle East and Asia. Girls are generally aged between five and 11 and most are cut without any medical supervision, but evidence shows the age at which girls are cut is decreasing.

Across the five African countries, the EU/UNICEF project has implemented a common approach based on a comprehensive understanding of how to change social norms to bring about an end to harmful practices.

The project, implemented by UNICEF, received a total of €3,991,000 (3.9 million) in EU funding over the period 2008-2012.

For more info Website of the Directorate-General Development and Cooperation-EuropeAid:

http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/index_en.htm

http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/news/

http://www.africa-eu-partnership.org/focus

UNICEF website – focus area child protection: http://www.unicef.org/protection/57929_58002.html

UNICEF Publication: ‘The Dynamics of Social Change – Towards the Abandonment of Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting in Five African Countries”

http://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/618

You can watch a video on this project at http://www.unicef.org/eu/norms.html

Contacts :
Catherine Ray ( +32 2 296 99 21 )
Wojtek Talko ( +32 2 297 85 51 )

To read the full article on the Reliefweb website, click here