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

Protecting Women in Ethiopia from Genital Cutting

May 31, 2011
Unicef Television

Protecting Women in Ethiopia from Genital Cutting

Rural village in Ethiopia vows to stop female genital mutilation

April 12, 2011
International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics
Carla Mackenzie

A rural village in southern Ethiopia, Africa, has vowed to try and end the practice of female genital mutilation.

While it is a tradition in the village of Senbata Lencho, people are beginning to realise the long-term impact female genital mutilation can have, reports Radio Netherlands Worldwide in Africa.

Local woman Radia Ledamo told the news provider: "We, the mothers, have taught our children these hurtful habits."

"It is now our duty to prevent them from doing it and inform them of its consequences," she added.

Berhanu Tufa, director of the African Development Aid Association, said the key to eradicating female genital mutilation was getting religious leaders involved.

He said the leaders are "more influential" than any other method. When the association got them on board and they told people that female circumcision is not stated in any religious text, people were more willing to consider halting the practice.

Recently, the Kenyan parliament said it was set to debate a proposed Bill outlawing female genital mutilation in the African country.

Campaign Against Female Circumcision Intensifies in Ethiopia

February 18, 2011
Ezega.com
Phillip Barea

Addis Ababa, February 18, 2011 (Ezega.com) -- In recent months local and national initiatives have shown a clear intensification of the struggle against the practice of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), also known as female circumcision.

The ancient practice of removing the outer female genitalia and “sewing” the vaginal opening shut has long existed in the region under the pretext of cleanliness and religious piety.

After years of United Nations and international NGO advocacy, recent “homegrown” campaigns have signaled a local increase in the struggle to eliminate the practice in Ethiopia. For example, recent Ethiopian Television programs have targeted the practice by assembling both religious scholars and traditional leaders to advocate against FGM.

Afar Regional Action

 Most recently, two regions within Afar State have increased both the legal and social fight against this practice. Officials in Amibara and Awash-Fentale districts have outlawed female genital mutilation, and further expressed their concern that the practice causes serious health problems to women and is against their culture.

Fatuma Ali, Head of Women's Affairs for Amibara Distric, issued a statement saying that: “We are very happy to declare the abandonment of this horrible act on women…We would like to thank the elders, our community and all our partners [for their support]”.

She further added that their commitment does not end there, and: "This is like the rebirth of Afar pastoralist women…We will fight until we secure 100 percent abandonment of the practice from our region”.

External Policy Advocacy

Just this month, two United Nations officials issued statements advocating for the eradication of female genital mutilation. Anthony Lake, Director of the UN Children's Fund; and Babatunde Osotimehin, Director of the UN Population Fund, declared that: “the practice violates human rights and endangers the health of the women affected”.

European Union officials have also recently reinvigorated their advocacy against FGM. Catherine Ashton, who leads the EU´s foreign policy sector, told the press that FGM is an "exceptionally brutal crime"; and she confirmed her determination to advocate for its elimination in Africa.

Religion and Tradition

 Many advocates in favor of maintaining the practice in Ethiopia claim that it stems from their culture and their religion. This perspective is especially prevalent in the Afar and Somali communities. They claim that FGM is mandated by Islam; however, many Muslim scholars and leaders have disputed and rejected such a claim.

For example, in a recent television interview one Somali Sultan (traditional clan leader) from the Somali region of Ethiopia publicly declared that he believes FGM to be an unhealthy cultural practice, against Islam, and that it should be stopped.

Ethiopian Television also recently broadcast an anti-FGM show where religious scholars from the various religious communities in Ethiopia discussed the issue from a religious perspective and concluded that there is no religious mandate for the practice and that it is unacceptable.

Scholars and leaders in many Muslim states have also issued, or are preparing to issue, a Fatwa (Islamic legal ruling) against Female Genital Mutilation. Most recently, for example, Muslim scholars and leaders in Mauritania issued a fatwa against FGM.

Two Districts in Northern Ethiopia Declare an End to Female Genital Cutting

January 25, 2011
UNICEF Television
Chris Niles


UNICEF correspondent Chris Niles reports on commitments in two districts of northern Ethiopia's Afar Region who declared to end the practice of female genital cutting.

For more information, please visit: http://www.unicef.org

An End to FGM: Afar Districts' Success Story

November 15, 2010
The Reporter
Yelibenwork Ayele

The Amibara district in the Afar Regional State declared the abandonment of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) Thursday at a ceremony held to mark the occasion at the town of Werer.

Awash Fentale, a neighboring district, is scheduled to make a similar declaration today.

In Afar region, women have traditionally been subjected to the most severe form of the practice – infibulations - usually between the ages of seven and nine.

FGM as practiced in the Afar Regional State results in birth complication, problems of the renal system and even death. The Afar used to believe that their religion demanded the circumcision of girls and that was why they adhered to the practice for centuries, residents of Werer said. However, now that they had unlearned the misconception, they would never expose their daughters to the knife of genital cutting, they said.

“We now understand that we ignorantly lost thousands of our girls and women due to circumcision, but we don’t want that to go on unchecked,” Ibrahim Musa, a resident of Werer said.

The change in the attitude of the districts’ residents was the result of continuous community conversations facilitated by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and UNICEF in collaboration with the regional government and local officials.

“We all know that when a piece of flesh is sliced off the genital area of a girl it hurts and causes copious bleeding but it had not occurred to us that that was the cause of the troubles and deaths of most of the women among us,” Fatuma Ayuma, a twenty-eight year old and mother of two girls said. She said that none of her two daughters was subjected to FGM and they never would be as long as she lived.

According to Fatuma, the effort of stopping FGM is still facing challenges in rural areas that are far away from the districts and where follow-up activities are not done. She said that in addition local religious leaders were urging the people to reject the idea of abandoning FGM.

Ethiopia is one of the 17 countries in Africa benefiting from the Joint UNFPA/UNICEF Program. The Joint Program aims to accelerate the abandonment of FGM by expanding existing efforts and to declare at least one country FGM free by 2012.

Afar region ranks second in the prevalence of FGM in Ethiopia (after Somali Region) with a prevalence rate of 92 per cent, according to the 2005 Demographic and Health Survey.

A number of initiatives have been undertaken to upgrade awareness and put in place structures for the abandonment of FGM in the intervention districts of the Joint Program. A Consensus Building Conference was held in Zone 3 of Afar Region last year among regional, district, and sub-district government and administration officials who unanimously agreed to promote community dialogue in their respective communities on the abandonment of FGM. They pledged to play an exemplary role in their community by not circumcising their own children and agreed to introduce and enforce the anti-FGM legislation after the communities reached a consensus on abandonment.

Anti-FGM committees were set up at the sub-district level comprising the clan leader, a community elder, former circumcisers, and the Kadi, a local judge. Anti-FGM village committees were also set up composed of two former circumcisers, a village elder, clan leader, and the religious leader in the community to teach the community on the consequences of FGM and report cases when they see evidence of it.

Uncircumcised and newborn girls are being registered, a record which serves as a follow-up mechanism to protect them. The registers are reported on a quarterly basis. Recent figures show that the number of uncircumcised girls in the six intervention districts of the Joint Program has reached 4,000. This is unprecedented in the region.

“With today’s public declaration of the abandonment of female genital mutilation or cutting, a new chapter opens for girls of Amibara District,” Tabeyin Gedlu, UNICEF Project Specialist, said. “Following an intense process of dialogue and discussion, the entire community has rallied to say no more to the ancient practice that has caused so much pain and suffering for countless generations of women. A new era is dawning for these communities and we urge vigilance in the days and months ahead to make sure that these hard earned commitments are not compromised.”

Abay’s Return: Defying the Tradition of Female Genital Cutting

September 10, 2010
Cancer Type: Cancer Research and about help

Abay, an Ethiopian woman who bravely refused to undergo female genital cutting at age 8, became a driving force for change in her community and shed light on the damaging practice. Visit www.care.org to learn more and find out how you can get involved.

With UNICEF and EU Support - Young Women Lead the Charge Against Cutting

August 26, 2010

Chris Niles

IMDIBIR, Ethiopia, 24 August 2010 – When she was seven years old, Maeza Garedew, now 14, was blindfolded and her hands and legs tied behind her back. She was laid on a board and then taken outside to the garden.

“They covered my eyes and they tied up my hands until she finished,” Maeza recalled. “When they untied me and opened my blindfold, I slapped the cutter in the face.”

Maeza’s parents decided to have Maeza and her younger sister, Tigist, cut because it was socially expected of them. In many communities in Ethiopia, it is commonly believed that cutting makes daughters more marriageable and less inclined to speak their mind.

“At the time, I hadn’t heard anything about the harms of cutting,” said Maeza’s mother, Tenaya Tessema, a soft-spoken mother of five. “I simply didn’t want them to be out-spoken and insulted by others. I got them cut to spare them that shame.”

Ethiopian FGM Radio Warnings Reach Nomadic Women

June 27, 2010
By Dominique Soguel - Women's eNews

 Nomadic girls in the Danakil Desert of Ethiopia often skip school to fetch and carry water. But in one settled pocket, girls are going to school and mothers in the past two years have begun heeding radio warnings on female genital mutilation.

 
DALLOL, Ethiopia (WOMENSENEWS)--The schoolmaster at Kursawat, a rural area in the Afar region of Ethiopia, is struggling to bring awareness of the benefits of girl education and the risks of female genital mutilation.


Ethiopia outlawed female genital mutilation in 2004 but the practice is deeply rooted and nearly universal in the Afar and Somali regions. In 2005 a government health survey found that 74 percent of girls and women nationwide had undergone the ritual cutting.


"Circumcision is still going on here," Schoolmaster Kadesang Fasile told Women's eNews. "Most of the Afar are nomads so they can't be reached through educational broadcasts."


The Afar is a collection of itinerant pastoralist tribes living in the Danakil Desert, in northeast Ethiopia, toward the border with Eritrea. Nicknamed "Hell on Earth," the desert claims the world record for the highest average annual temperature in an inhabited location: 94 F. Average annual rainfall is less than eight inches.


There are 500 nomadic households in Fasile's school district and families often relocate without regard to the school calendar. The school--the only cement structure in the area, more than one hour away from the nearest paved road--sees an annual dropout rate of between 20 and 30 percent. Mothers and fathers in the community, says Fasile, see a cultural threat in female education.


"If a woman is educated and succeeds, she will live for herself and that is not permitted," said Fasile. "Here the woman fetches water."


But harsh gender attitudes are starting to soften in other pockets of the Afar region.

Abandoning Female Genital Cutting/Mutilation in the Afar Region of Ethiopia

April 8, 2010
By Abraham Gelaw - UNFPA

AWASH, Afar Region, Ethiopia — A smile formed on Dohra Ali’s face when she recalled what her eldest daughter asked her a couple of years ago. “Mother, is there a place in this world where FGM is not practised where I could go to?” At the time, the question came as an affront to Dohra, who was herself one of the women in the community who did the cutting.

Thinking back, Dohra says the words of her daughter were prophetic. A campaign to abandon female genital mutilation/cutting was begun in the region right about that time – in the year 2000. The campaign was mainly spearheaded by religious leaders, who worked tirelessly to inculcate an understanding among their more conservative counterparts, clan leaders and the community at large that the practice is not supported by Islam. This came as news to many, who had grown up with the idea that it was a religious requirement.

Dohra was fiercely opposed to the campaign at the beginning. However, she was persuaded later on when the religious leaders held discussions with her community and condemned the practice. Once she learned that it did not have the backing of Islam, Dohra resolved to spare her five daughters from the ordeal and to stop her own practice. Despite ridicule by some members of her community, Dohra went ahead and joined the anti-FGM/C campaign.

Reaching consensus
 
The campaign continued for six years, culminating in a conference in 2006 where consensus was reached to totally abandon FGM/C in the region. The conference involved senior officials of the regional government, zonal administrators, woreda (district) and kebele (sub-district) officials and religious and clan leaders. A government regulation reaffirming the Penal Code of Ethiopia (ratified in 2005), which criminalizes the practice, was also passed.

It was on this platform that the UNFPA/UNICEF Joint Programme on the Abandonment of FGM/C in the Afar region was built.

The Afar region, one of the hottest and driest places on earth, ranks second in the prevalence of FGM/C in Ethiopia after the Somali Region, with prevalence rates of 74 and 92 per cent, respectively, according to the Demographic and Health Survey conducted in 2005. In the Afar region, women have traditionally been subjected to the most severe form of the practice, infibulation, usually between the ages of seven to nine. In some districts it is carried out within the first few days after birth.

Infibulation involves the entire removal of the clitoris, the labia minora and labia majora, followed by sealing of the wound, which leaves only a small hole for the passage of urine and menses. Figures show that 63.2 per cent of women in the Afar region have undergone infibulation (some people are now practicing a less extreme form). The practice leaves the girls with severe pain and trauma, shock, haemorrhage, sepsis, urine retention, ulceration of the genital region, and urinary infection, among other complications. Obstruction and tearing during sexual intercourse or childbirth is common.

Gaining community support
 
The core strategy of the UNFPA/UNICEF Joint Programme is to gain the support of an initial core group, which decides to abandon the practice and then helps mobilize a sufficient number of people to facilitate a tipping point – enough of a consensus to create a rapid social shift on the norm. The Afar Pastoralist Development Association, Rohi Weddu Pastoralist Women’s Development and the Women’s Affairs Office are working as implementing partners. The Joint Programme is initially operating in all the sub-districts of the six districts forming Zone 3 of the Afar Region, namely Amibara, Argoba, Awash Fentale, Buremudayitu, Dulesa and Gewane.

Community dialogue was identified from the outset as a pivotal tool for mobilizing community support. A Consensus Building Conference was held in the zone early in 2009, where regional, district, and sub-district government and administration officials took part and reached a unanimous agreement to support and facilitate community dialogue in their respective communities. They also pledged to play an exemplary role in their community by not circumcising their own children. In addition the participants agreed to introduce and enforce the legislation after the communities reached a consensus on abandonment.

Training dialogue facilitators
 
Community dialogue facilitators were trained in the six target districts. The training was provided by members of the Afar Region Anti-Harmful Traditional Practices Committee, which is constituted by representatives of the Regional Islamic Affairs Supreme Council, Women’s Affairs Bureau, Justice Bureau and the Regional Council. Administrators, clan and religious leaders and former circumcisers participated in the trainings, which covered FGM/C’s relationship to Islam, its effect on health, and the legal rights of women and children. Once trained, the community dialogue facilitators were entrusted with the task of disseminating information and knowledge among community members during the community dialogue sessions. Hundreds of such sessions have taken place.

Despite the extensive system put in place to implement and monitor the programme, a few instances of parents continue to have their daughters cut have been uncovered. The village anti-FGM committees diligently report these cases and the offenders receive punishment for violations. But reports show that some circumcisers who were brought to justice were released with a pardon, though there is no such provision.

The Afar way of life poses programming challenges. Predominantly pastoralists, they are unable to regularly attend the community dialogue sessions to get enough information on FGM. This makes it difficult to monitor progress at community level. Moreover, in some community dialogue sessions some community members have argued for shifting from infibulationsto a less severe cut (sometimes referred to as sunna), which is not punishable according to some religious leaders.

Impressive results
 
Nevertheless, early indications show that the Joint Programme is bearing impressive results. According to Ato Asmelash Woldemariam, Executive Director of the Rohi Weddu Pastoralist Women Development, the number of uncircumcised girls in the six woredas of intervention has reached 4,000. This is unprecedented in the region, where tradition holds that “an uncircumcised woman is one who is waiting for her day of circumcision or one who has already passed away,” says Ato Asmelash.

It is expected that two of the intervention woredas of the Joint Programme, Awash Fentale and Amibara, will declare themselves free of FGM/C this year, according to Ato Asmelash.

If funding is secured, the programme will be scaled up to include three more woredas. In the meantime, the emphasis is on consolidating the success already achieved, by adding elements such as income-generating activities and literacy training, mainly targeting former circumcisers.

Though the overriding focus is on the accelerated abandonment of FGM/C, efforts are being made to include other harmful traditional practices in the community dialogue process. For instance, in Afar there is a strong belief the girls could engage in sex or could get raped if they are not married by age 15, which puts pressure on girls to get married early. But efforts are currently being undertaken to push the age of marriage of girls to 18 by helping girls to go to school. Girls’ education, has, accordingly, increased in recent years and the members of the anti-FGM committees like Dohra Ali are playing exemplary role by sending their own daughters to school.

Thanks to the relentless efforts of Dohra Ali and other members of the community, Doho has been chosen as a model kebele in the Awash Fentale woreda for the accelerated abandonment of FGM/C. Dohra has helped to create the community her daughter once dreamed of. Her girls are now part of the first Afar generation of girls to grow up free from the harm of FGM/C.

Monitoring progress

Structures have also been put in place on the ground to monitor the implementation of the Joint Programme. Anti-FGM committees have been set up at the kebele level comprising the clan leader, a community elder, two former circumcisers, and the Kadi (local judge). There are also anti-FGM village committees composed of two former circumcisers, a village elder, clan leader, and the religious leader in the community. The members of the committees teach the community on the consequences of FGM/C and report cases when they see evidence of it.

Quarterly review meetings are being held with the aim of giving refresher training to help committees address the challenges they encounter in the course of their work. The review meetings are also serving as forums to evaluate progress. The review meetings are facilitated by members of the Afar Region Anti-Harmful Traditional Practices Committee . There have been cases where officials as high as the Vice-President of the region and the Vice-President of the Islamic Affairs Supreme Council have facilitated the review meetings thus showing serious commitment in the region to end the practice.

In the villages uncircumcised and newborn girls are now being registered, a record which serves as a follow up mechanism to protect them. The registers are reported on a quarterly basis.

Monitoring work is being undertaken on a regular basis together with the woreda administrations. The monitoring work has been integrated in the routine works of the woredas. When the woreda and kebele administrations hold their periodic meetings, FGM/C is discussed as one development issue. Moreover, a regional network of governmental and civil society organizations working on the abandonment of harmful practices has been established to create a common understanding and approach in the quest to achieve total abandonment.

"Change has begun here and the change must continue."

January 9, 2010 By Paul Vallely - The NZ Herald The agony of female circumcision

Hanna Abera is seven. Her mother and grandmother wanted to slice off part of her genitals. But she was saved by an extraordinarily brave intervention from her aunt after a British charity launched a programme of education on the consequences of female circumcision - which is still widely practised throughout parts of Africa and the Middle East.

No one knows how many women are subjected to the procedure but it is thought that over two million procedures are performed every year. Amnesty International estimates that over 130 million women worldwide have been affected by some form of what it calls female genital mutilation.

In Ethiopia, which is where Hanna lives, 70 to 80 per cent of women are circumcised, as are almost all men. But this is not a bad news story. It is about change n for in the region around the town of Woliso in the central part of the country a remarkable project has brought a revolution in social attitudes.

And it has come about through the empowerment of a local community, thanks to a project run by the British development agency ActionAid, which is one of the three charities being supported in this year's Independent Christmas Appeal, which closes today n though staff will remain available to receive donations by post, telephone or via the internet until the end of next month.

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Tijitu Obsu is a young woman who was, until quite recently, an enthusiast for the traditional practice. "I arranged the ceremony when my two elder nieces were circumcised, at the ages of seven and five," says the 22-year-old. "And I organised the party afterwards. But by the date that Hanna was due to be circumcised at the age of four, three years ago, my eyes had been opened. I knew that with the other two I had committed a terrible crime. So I saved Hanna from that fate."

Change began in Woliso in 1998 when ActionAid began a project to get local communities to focus on how traditional cultural practices were assisting the spread of HIV/Aids. But it took seven years before that work began to bear fruit and Hanna - and many young girls like her - began to be saved from the circumciser's blade.

The rate of HIV infection in Ethiopia is around 4.4 per cent n which is below the 6 per cent average for the continent or the astronomical rates in some southern African countries, where one in five of the entire population is infected. Still, 1.4 million Ethiopians carry the virus, and one of the key strategies in containing the spread has been to try to curb what became known as harmful traditional practices, including widow inheritance, wife sharing, abduction and circumcision.

Campaigners who had studied the eradication of the 1,000-year-long practice of foot-binding in China in the early 20th century knew that changing social attitudes, rather than passing laws against the practice, was key. ActionAid, which specialises in community-level development projects, sponsored training for 96 young people as facilitators of attitude change. To provide them with a living it also gave them training in crop farming or animal rearing.

The facilitators travelled through villages around Woliso calling community meetings asking local people to identify the taboos which might assist the spread of HIV. "We had to proceed slowly," says one of them, Negusse Beadada, 24, "because we knew that the village elders had the power to decide everything and that they didn't trust us or believe us. What we were raising was a challenge to the older community leaders. So the first move was to obtain their blessing for our discussions.

"We began by raising single issues, such as: how do you see the relationships between women and men in this village? Only after six weeks did we raise the issue of harmful traditional practices. Some villagers insisted female circumcision was essential as it stopped females from being rude," he says, employing the word which Ethiopians of all ages use to describe enthusiastic sexual activity, male but especially female. "Others were less strongly committed to it, but said 'It has been practised here for a long time and that can't be changed.' But we started the discussion."

The starting point for debate in these weekly Sunday community meetings was the spread of Aids, but the conversations broadened into wider sexual politics. Among the issues raised were early marriages and abductions as well as circumcision. Traditionally, girls in this part of Ethiopia were considered marriageable between the age of 12 and 14, though some were wed as early as the age of nine to men who were generally over the age of 30.

"Some of the girls are not physically compatible with their husbands," says Hawariat Petros, a young Ethiopian Masters graduate in her mid-twenties who works for ActionAid. "That means sex can be physically damaging. Fistula [a rupture of the vagina and urethra which leads to urinary incontinence in women] is a common problem.

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But around half of these girls stick with their husbands because they know that if they leave they'll never get another husband later in life unless they are from a rich family."

Even so, she says, thanks to girls' education a "real change" has begun. Hanna's aunt, Tijitu Obsu, is still unmarried at 22 "because I have not finished my studies". Among female graduates the average age for marrying is between 25 and 30. Weddings are expensive in Ethiopia, as anywhere. A dowry can cost 6,000 birr ($635) and a wedding feast 7,000 birr ($740) which together represent two years' wages. Men who are poor have got round this problem by lying in wait outside a different village and abducting a girl to be their bride.

"It's been a severe problem in our area," says Ms Beadada, "and it has been widely accepted in the culture and not seen as a bad thing. Sometimes the man will move far away so her family can't track her down. Or his elders come to the girl's family to apologise and see if they can agree a deal or compensation."

The community conversations have started a significant shift on that. There have been no abductions in the area for more than two years now. But circumcision has proved a more deep-rooted problem. "The assumption was widespread that an uncircumscised woman would be unfaithful and would look for other men," says Ms Petros. "She would be rude. But people are coming to see that it's not a question of being rude; it's about respecting your husband - and him respecting you."

The detail of what was done varied from one area to another. In towns the operation, often performed with unsterilised blades, was often done when the baby girl was about six weeks old but in rural areas it was left until the girl was between four and seven. "The degree of cutting in the Christian areas of central Ethiopia was less severe than in the Muslim areas," says Ms Petros, "but there are only three or four regions in Ethiopia that don't do it. Some men, if they marry a women who hasn't been circumcised, will send her away as an adult to have it done."

The procedure involves the slicing away of the clitoris and the removal of the inner and sometimes the outer lips of her vagina. The genitals are then held together using thorns or stitches with the girl's legs tied together for six weeks to allow the healing of the two sides of the vulva.

The procedure can result in a wide range of problems from infections to sterility and even death from shock or unstemmed bleeding. It can make sex painful - husbands sometimes have to cut the women after marriage to allow penetration. Severe complications in childbirth include the tearing of the vagina to such a degree that death of both mother and child can follow. The chances of the transmission of HIV from mother to child are also significantly increased.

It was after hearing all this that seven-year-old Hanna's aunt, Ms Obsu, was overcome with guilt at the operations she had organised for her two nieces. "I knew I had committed a crime and went to see my brother and sister-in-law and I started discussing it," she says, a confidence and assurance kicking in as she switches from speaking a hesitant Amharic, Ethiopia's national language, to Woliso's local tongue.

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She planted the seeds of doubt in her brother's mind, but when he went to see his mother she told him that the circumcisions must go ahead. But in the teeth of her mother's opposition Ms Obsu managed to talk her brother out of the operation.

Changing attitudes is a long process and involves a number of strategies. "You have to deal with myths, like it doesn't hurt the child very much, and wounds heal," says a local man, Tariku Adinuya, 29, who is one of those whose mind has been changed. "I said to the chief elder: 'If you cut your hand with a knife, does it hurt? Well, then it will hurt a child to be circumcised.' It is also self-evident that there can more easily be physical damage during delivery if the vagina does not expand sufficiently. The child may suffer and the mother may die."

He managed to convince his wife with such arguments. But with the village elders he had to deploy a religious approach. "I asked them: 'Do you think that men and women are different in the sight of God?' And when they said no, I said: 'If we are all equal in front of God if you do something bad to a female you do something bad to God'."

Much of the resistance to change resides not with the male elders but with the older women in the community. "Many illiterate women assume that their circumcision has in some way helped them," says Hawariat Petros. "They assume that it makes it easier to give birth. And the women who perform the operation resisted; because it was their livelihood."

"Hanna's grandmother was very annoyed when her parents decided against the procedure," says Ms Obsu. "But since then something has happened to change her mind. My elder sister was pregnant and there were complications so she had to go to hospital. She was given a Caesarean. The doctors told my mother that if my sister had tried to give birth at home she would have died because she had been circumcised so badly. That altered her attitude entirely."

Other attitudes have been changed through the storytelling techniques which have been taught to the facilitators. "We tell the story of a merchant in a village not far from here who had a wife in the country and a mistress in town. When he finds he is HIV-positive he has to decide what to do," says Negusse Beadada. "We ask the villagers what they would do. Some say they wouldn't tell anyone. Others say they would use holy water. Others that they would kill themselves, because they were so evil. Others that they would tell their wife so she could go to hospital. Then we explore the pros and cons of the various options. And in the process of all this discussion you start to change minds."

It works. There have been no female circumcisions now in the area for three years. Many girls of Hanna's age have escaped mutilation. "My friends Getae and Kumisha are not circumcised either," the seven-year-old says. "They are very happy about that. And so am I. When I grow up I'd like to be a doctor to help people like I have been helped."

Change is rippling through the community. Most people now agree to having an HIV test before marriage. Under a local law those who abduct or practise early marriage are fined and jailed for three months. Sixteen girls have been saved from circumcision in one village of 17 households alone. ActionAid now would like to spread the project into other areas.

"I am not afraid that my daughters will not get husbands when they grow up, " says Tariku Adinuya. His children are aged nine and five. With the money he has saved from the operation and the parties that would have followed he has bought an ox.

"There has been such a change in the community that I'm not worried that my daughters will be left without husbands when the time comes," he adds.

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"Change has begun here and the change must continue."

Azeb lauds FGM, HIV/AIDS prevention activities in Afar state

January 4, 2010 By Walta Information Center Addis Ababa – The Founder and Board Chairperson of the National Coalition for Women against HIV/AIDS, First Lady Azeb Mesfin, lauded the successful endeavors carried out to eradicate Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and prevent HIV/AIDS in Afar state. Speaking at the 4th annual conference of the Coalition held on Saturday in Awash Sebat town, Azeb said the Afar state has registered remarkable results in the fight against FGM, a factor which is fueling the spread of HIV/AIDS in the state. She said the coalition in collaboration with religious and clan leaders as well as pertinent bodies is exerting utmost efforts so as to curb the spread of HIV/AIDS through fighting FGM [...] Azeb Mesfin

Abay Returns: Defying the Tradition of Female Genital Cutting

May 06,2009 By Phil Borges - CareUSA

Female Genital Mutilation in school in Ethiopia

In spite of education against Female Genital Mutilation in class for girls and boys, FGM is still widely practiced in Ethiopia.

FGM virtually eradicated in two zones in Ethiopia

November 2, 2009
By EthioPlanet staff

In a series of celebrations that mark a profound and historic watershed, tens of thousands of people converged on Durame town from October 29 to 31 to celebrate the virtual eradication of female genital mutilation (FGM) in the zones of Kembatta and Tembaro in the Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples Regional State.

According to local non-governmental organisation, Kembatti Mentti Gezzimma-Tope (KMG), the virtual elimination of this harmful traditional practice suggests that well over 100,000 girls have been spared in this region, reversing in a single decade a practice so old some Christians and Muslims here mistakenly believed it was mandated by their religions.
“We called it ‘getting the dirt out,’ but we never said it out loud, because it was taboo,” said Bogaletch Gebre, founder chief executive officer of KMG, who returned to Kembatta, her birth place, in 1997, to start the NGO that would fight for the human rights of women and improve the environment for all people in the region.

Film director raises awareness about female genital mutilation

September 23, 2009 "Desert Flower," the best-selling book by former super model Waris Dirie, has been adapted for the big screen. German-US director Sherry Hormann hopes it will draw attention to the problem of female genital mutilation. Dirie's rise from a nomadic life in Somalia to the top of the international modeling world is well known around the world. Her autobiography "Desert Flower" has sold more than 11 million copies worldwide since it was published in 1998. Dirie was one of 12 children born to desert nomads in Somalia. She escaped from being sold into marriage for five camels at the age of 13 and ran away to London to work for an uncle. She taught herself to read and write and five years later got a big break as a model when a photographer spotted her at McDonald's. "Not a victim" Opening Thursday in German theaters, director Sherry Hormann's film is a homage to Dirie's tough spirit, which made it possible for her to survive tremendous odds. It traces her death-defying journey through the Somali desert, as she flees from the prospect of marrying a 60-year-old man and makes it to the capital Mogadishu. The film shows Dirie's move to London, where she cleans houses and struggles to survive. Dirie is played by the glamorous Ethiopian-born model Liya Kebede. "What interested me in Waris' story is that she isn't a victim," the Berlin-based director told news agency dpa. "She takes action - till today." Hormann, who is better known for romantic comedies such as "Women Are Simply Wonderful" and "Doubting Thomas," however, makes it clear that the central message of the rags-to-riches film is a serious one - that the practice of female genital mutilation continues to be widespread. Dirie was five years old when she was forced to undergo the painful procedure. A scene in the film shows a crying girl held down while a woman cuts off parts of her genitals with a razor blade. The wound is then sewn up with a coarse thread, with a tiny hole left through which to urinate. Film crew faced hostility on location The World Health Organization estimates that at least 150 million women around the world are affected by genital mutilation - a practice meant to prevent women from experiencing sexual pleasure. "We want the film to at least reduce the unbelievably high number of women and girls threatened by or suffering from genital mutilation," Hormann said. "It's still carried out - even in countries that have officially banned the practice." Hormann said she shot large parts of the film in Djibouti, home to a large Somali population. The director said the film crew faced a lot of hostility from the local population during the shooting and had to be provided with security personnel. "The people hated us; they threw stones at us because we were white people who came and spoke about genital mutilation," Hormann told dpa. "And then when Waris turned up - that further provoked them." A growing problem in Europe Hormann said her main motivation for the film was to draw attention to a problem that no longer just existed in other parts of the world, but increasingly in Europe, too. "Immigrants take this tradition (female genital mutilation) with them to their new homes. That's very unsettling," Hormann said. "That's why we hope that the film helps to raise awareness of the subject." That's what Waris Dirie has been doing for more than a decade. The former supermodel is the UN's special ambassador for the elimination of female genital mutilation and has set up a foundation to raise public awareness about it. "The world knows that these mutilations are wrong and still not much has happened. I don't understand why the world only looks on," Dirie said during a recent appearance at the Venice Film Festival. The award-winning human rights campaigner said she was driven by one single thought: "Somewhere in the world, a girl is being mutilated right now and tomorrow that same fate awaits another girl." sp/dpa/ap Editor: Louisa Schaefer

In Ethiopia, African women parliamentarians condemn female genital mutilation

Septemeber 14, 2009
By Tezeta Tulloch

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, – In a room filled with visiting dignitaries and members of the Ethiopian National Assembly, Tadeletch Shanko’s voice was whisper-quiet as she talked about the difficult subject of female genital mutilation/cutting, or FGM/C.

Ms. Shanko had performed FGM/C on girls for the last 15 years and underwent the procedure herself as a girl, with devastating consequences.

“I lost seven of my nine children in childbirth,” she said. “Because of the scarring I sustained, I was not elastic enough. All seven of them suffocated inside my womb.”

Raising awareness

Ms. Shanko is no longer a supporter of FGM/C, as a result of a series of community dialogues on the physical and psychological harm caused by the practice.

She shared her story with the members of the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) Women’s Caucus, which convened in Addis Ababa late last month to assess the state of FGM/C across Africa – and to learn from the strategies that Ethiopia and other countries have put in place to eliminate it.

A key objective of the visit was to mobilize parliamentarian and state support for the elimination of harmful traditional practices, with a particular emphasis on female genital mutilation. Also on the agenda were ways to raise public awareness of FGM/C through the media; customary laws to introduce sanctions against the practice; and potential avenues for collaboration among various stakeholders in society.

Powerful testimony

The parliamentarians heard powerful testimony from women and men whose lives had been tragically affected by FGM/C.

For Aregash Agegnehu, female circumcision – as the practice is also known – had never been a question of choice. “I was circumcised when I was a child. My daughter had to be cut as well,” she said. “It was inevitable.”

But since participating in in-depth community dialogues on the subject, Ms. Agegnehu no longer believes that FGM/C is a requisite part of being a woman.

“When I started engaging in community dialogue, I came to understand the harm of FGM, and now I have changed,” she said.

Cultural beliefs

Female genital mutilation is widely practiced by Muslims and Christians alike in Ethiopia, and official statistics suggest that almost three-quarters of women here have undergone the procedure. Forms vary widely by region but generally entail either a partial or total removal of the clitoris.

In the most severe form, infibulation, the labia are removed and the genitals sewn shut – barring a small hole for the release of urine and menstrual blood.

The predominant cultural belief is that circumcision is an essential pre-condition of marriage and motherhood. In many communities, an uncircumcised female cannot be recognized as a woman. Some feel that circumcision is a safeguard against promiscuity. Another common belief is that uncircumcised women tend to be inept at carrying out common household duties.

According to the World Health Organization, women who have undergone FGM/C are more likely to suffer from infertility, develop vaginal cysts and have recurrent bladder and urinary tract infections. FGM/C also increases the risk of childbirth complications and newborn deaths. It has no proven health benefits.

Worldwide, between 100 and 140 million girls and women are living with the consequences of FGM/C. In Africa, an estimated 92 million girls aged 10 and over have undergone some form of genital cutting.

Changed attitudes

Many mothers fear that, without circumcision, their daughters will not fulfil the criteria for marriage or gain full acceptance in the community. Indeed, supporters of FGM/C often cite the fact that it is a long-held social norm. But such attitudes are changing. By the end of 2008, four of Ethiopia’s districts had publicly pledged to abandon FGM/C.

Mergieta Temesgen Ashebir, a religious leader who uses his influence to speak out against the practice, also spoke at the PAP conference. “According to the bible,” he said, “circumcision is only for boys, not for girls. There is no verse that states otherwise.”

Hon. Anab Abdulkadir, PAP Acting Chairperson and a member of the Ethiopian Parliament, pointed out the importance of understanding the root causes of FGM/C

“The demand is coming from where?” she asked. “It is coming from men. If there wasn’t a demand, there wouldn’t have been any supply. We have to … outlaw that demand.”

‘Not cast in stone’

UNICEF Representative in Ethiopia Ted Chaiban voiced the need to accelerate and harmonize efforts to abolish FGM/C in Africa.

“There are encouraging signs that the practice of FGM in Ethiopia is declining,” he noted. “We see this mission of the Pan-African Parliament Women’s Caucus as a major opportunity to catalyze and synergize efforts in Ethiopia, and across Africa, towards an intensified and coordinated affront on FGM.”

Added Hon. Fatima Hajaig, a South African parliamentarian: “Cultural norms are not cast in stone. They develop from day to day. Our cultural value system changes as we go along. This business of ‘in the name of culture’ – I can’t accept that.”

UNICEF Ethiopia has been collaborating with partners on a number of advocacy efforts toward abandonment of FGM/C, including training community-dialogue facilitators and disseminating educational materials in various media. The parliamentary mission is the most recent effort in this direction.

Ethiopia: Parliamentarians Aim to Ignite Action Toward FGM Abandonment

August 31, 2009 Addis Ababba — Parliamentarians from Ethiopia and 7 African Countries last week completed a three day mission to set in motion a coordinated continental effort to shake off the deeply embedded Harmful Traditional Practice of Female Genital Mutilation / Cutting (FGM/C). The mission, hosted by Ethiopian members of the Pan African Parliamen Women's Caucus and in collaboration with the African Union,, was opened by Mufeerihat Kamil, Minister of Women's Affairs, the organizers said in a joint statement. "As Ethiopian members of the Pan African Parliamentarians Women's Caucus are hosting this conference because we feel it is time for us all to rapidly accelerate our achievements against this unacceptable violence against women." Anab Abdulkadir , Deputy Chairperson of PAP Women's Caucus and Member of Ethiopia Federal Parliament was quoted as having said. Data from the Ethiopia 2005 Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) indicate that 74 per cent of women aged 15-49 have undergone some form of FGM/C. There are significant regional differences ranging from 27% (Gambela) and 29% (Tigray) to 92% (Afar) and 97% (Somali region). According to the DHS, There has been a 6% decline in prevalence of FGM/C from 80% to 74% between 2000 and 2005. Figures from a 1998 baseline and 2008 follow-up survey conducted by the National Association for Eradicating Traditional Harmful Practices (EGLDAM) estimates that the current prevalence rate is 56%. Given differences in methodology and sampling of the DHS and EGLDAM surveys, it is important to review the new DHS figures to verify actual rates of reduction. Data reveals that while there is significant decline in support for FGM/C, some may still be unable or unwilling to abandon it due to the complex set of beliefs and social constraints that surround the practice, the host partners said. "There are encouraging signs that the practice of FGM/C in Ethiopia is declining. We see this mission of the Pan-African Parliamentarian's Women Caucus as a major opportunity to mobilize efforts in Ethiopia and across Africa towards an intensified and coordinated affront on FGM/C to bring the fulfillment of the rights of girls and women into more immediate reality," the statement cited Fatima Hajiaig, Member of PAP from South Africa. As part of the mission, the 5 Parliamentarians from Ethiopia and 7 parliamentarians from other African countries received accounts of the pioneering work of Ethiopian NGOs - KMG and Rohi Wedu and observed the Community Dialogue process being supported across Ethiopia by the Ministry of Womens Affairs in collaboration with UNICEF, to break the cycle of FGM/C in Ethiopia. Powerful testimonials were shared by community members on their experiences related to FGM/C as well as the impact the intervention strategies have made on their lives. According to the organizers, the concrete outcome of the Mission was a set of 10 specific recommendations for review and adoption by the Pan-African Parliament to ensure a more active role of African Parliamentarian as champions and agents of change for FGM/C Abandonment both nationally and continentally. It was said that the Mission was the second to be undertaken by the Pan African Parliament's Women's Caucus since its establishment in October, 2008. The first was in Rwanda in November, 2008 where the members joined Rwandan women parliamentarians to cerebrate the victory of Rwanda in higher percentage of women in parliament and other key government decision-making structures. Support for the Mission was provided by the Association of European Parliamentarians for Africa (AWEPA), the Pan-African Parliament and UNICEF, Ethiopia in collaboration with the People's Representative of the Ethiopian Parliament.

40% of Somali & Ethiopian Women in Netherlands Genitally Mutilated

August 29, 2009

THE HAGUE, 30/05/09 - Four out of ten Somali and Ethiopian women who give birth in the Netherlands have been genitally mutilated. This is relatively few, Health State Secretary Jet Bussemaker wrote to the Lower House on Friday.

The figures were recorded by research organisation TNO after questioning midwives. The number of cases of female circumcision is fairly low, since nine out of ten women in the countries of origin have been circumcised, Bussemaker reasoned.

To obtain a better picture of female circumcision, the state secretary previously announced that midwives would be registering this form of mutilation. They will also be trained in how to discuss circumcision with families.

I realise that the populace concerned is small, but the percentages are shocking. Criminal. And dont think this is just Islam. Ethiopia is a Christian nation. Christ, what a mess. But there is hope over to the south of Europe. I quote:

Italy plans to launch a campaign to focus attention on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in a bid to stem its practice in the country, Equal Opportunities Minister Mara Carfagna said on Wednesday. Some 150 million women are victims of the practice world-wide, with an estimated 35-40 thousand cases in Italy by foreigners living in the country, said Carfagna who called FGM "torture, a barbaric action".

The government plans to run a series of ads on state-run television in a bid to convince parents to end the practice.It is also setting up a committee to deal with the problem, which Carfagna said is "an underestimated phenomenon". "I plan to use my ministry's funds to combat and prevent a practice which violates human rights," she told a news conference. The government has already earmarked some 3.5 million euros and plans to add another four million to back 21 projects set up to deal with FGM.

FGM, which is also known as female circumcision, covers a number of different practices, usually involving either removing the clitoris or sewing up the vagina. The most severe form, infibulation, entails both, and accounts for around 15% of all procedures. An estimated 150 million women around the world have undergone genital mutilation, while some 6,000 girls are mutilated every day, according to the London-based human rights organization Amnesty International.

It is practiced in at least 28 African countries, and is also common in some Middle Eastern states, including Egypt, Yemen and the United Arab Emirates. Italy passed a law in January 2006 outlawing FGM. IT lays down jail terms of up to 12 years for those who carry out the procedure on adult women and up to 16 years if it is carried out on a minor or in exchange for money. Doctors caught carrying out FGM are banned from their profession for up to ten years. The law is applicable even if the woman is operated on abroad.

Prevalence and associated factors of female genital mutilation among Somali refugees in eastern Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study

July 28, 2009 Eastern Ethiopia hosts a substantial number of refugees originated from Somalia. Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a common practice in the area, despite the campaigns to eliminate it. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 492 respondents sampled from three refugee camps in Somali Regional State, Eastern Ethiopia, to determine the prevalence and associated factors of FGM. Data were collected using pre-tested structured questionnaires. Results: Although the intention of the parents to circumcise their daughters was high (84%), 42.4% of 288 [less than or equal to]12 girls were reported being undergone FGM. The prevalence increased with age, and about 52% and 95% were circumcised at the age of 7-8 and 11-12 years, respectively. Almost all operations were performed by traditional circumcisers (81%) and birth attendants (18%). Clitoral cutting (64%) and narrowing of the vaginal opening through stitching (36%) were the two common forms of FGM reported by the respondents. Participation of the parents in anti-FGM interventions is statistically associated with lower practice and intention of the procedures. Conclusion: FGM is widely practised among the Somali refugee community in Eastern Ethiopia, and there was a considerable support for the continuation of the practice particularly among women. The findings indicate a reported shift of FGM from its severe form to milder clitoral cutting. More men than women positively viewed anti-FGM interventions, and fewer men than women had the intention to let their daughters undergo FGM, indicating the need to involve men in anti-FGM activities. Author: Getnet MitikeWakgari Deressa