Uganda to Outlaw Female Circumcision

July 3, 2009 KAMPALA (AFP) — Uganda will pass a law banning female genital mutilation, which is rampant among pastoralist tribes in the country's eastern region, the president said in a statement Friday. "The way God made it, there is no part of a human body that is useless," President Yoweri Museveni told a gathering in the eastern Karamoja district. "Now you people interfere with God's work. Some say it is culture. Yes, I support culture but you must support culture that is useful and based on scientific information," he added. Last year, the United Nations passed a resolution that called female genital mutilation a violation of the rights of women and said it constituted "irreparable, irreversible abuse." The resolution also said female circumcision increases the risk of HIV transmission, as well as maternal and infant mortality. The UN estimates that between 100 million to 140 million worldwide have undergone the practice. And her is the rest of it.

Uganda Education News: Education Ministry to start special interventions on FGM

July 2, 2009 The Minister of Education and Sports Geraldine Namirembe Bitamazire has promised parliament that her ministry will begin special interventions to tackle the problem of Female Genital Mutilation in the districts of Kapchorwa, Bukwo and Nakapiripiriti. Bitamazire says the ministry will start special sensitization programmes on the practice of FGM in the various schools in these districts such that the school going children can understand that FGM an undesirable cultural activity which needs to be stopped. She has told the Parliamentary Committee on Equal Opportunities which she was facing that her ministry will also find a special programme for the girls in the schools in these areas during the seasons of FGM. Bitamazire says for example during such periods the schools will be required to keep all girls in boarding such that these girls can escape FGM threats in those seasons. She says however to solve the problem of FGM, there is need for an inter- ministerial approach to tackling the problem. Bitamazire says for instance other ministries like the Ministry of Gender, Labor and Social Development, the Ministry of Health among others should also participate in the fight against FGM. And her is the rest of it.

Museveni Meets Subei Elders

July 2, 2009

By Vision Reporter

A LAW against female genital mutilation will soon be passed, President Yoweri Museveni has said.

Meeting elders from the Sebei region and opinion leaders at the Entebbe State House on Monday, the President hailed the leaders for educating wananchi about the dangers of the cultural practice which has affected the girl child in the area.

A statement quoted the President as saying the practice exposes women to complications at child birth.

Dr. Emmanuel Otaala, the state minister for labour and gender, recently said the Government is preparing a Bill to curb the practice.

The delegation, led by the deputy Speaker of Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga, presented a number of issues, including a ban of female genital mutilation to the President.

Museveni said in order to strengthen protection of the girl child against female genital mutilation, he would ask the authorities to deploy female Police officers throughout the region.

He assured the delegation of better allowances for medical workers in hardship areas, adding that more ambulances would be distributed and health centres renovated.

The President also said more power transformers would be installed in the area. And her is the rest of it.

Gambian Communities Pledge to Abandon FGM and Forced Marriage

July 2, 2009 Twenty-four communities in Gambia have pledged to end the practices of female genital mutilation and early or forced marriage of young girls. The reform is due in large part to the work of Tostan, an organization facilitating community-led development in East and West Africa. Joined by UNICEF and supported by the Gambian government, the 24 communities commemorated their pledge with a ceremony. With powerful symbolism, Kobaye Nyabally, a native of Dasilameh who said she had been cutting herself for years as part of a cultural practice she had inherited from her parents, “pledged to abandon the practice by dropping her knife in front of the crowd.” Regional health officer Saikouna Sagina commended the communities for their show of support for the health rights of women and girls, adding that “the declaration by the 24 communities is a clear manifestation [of] the knowledge gained…[that] is impacting positively on their lives.” It is the hope of organizations such as Tostan and UNICEF that the momentous commitment of the communities will serve as a regional and international example. Gambia’s practice rate of FGM is among the highest in Africa, 78 percent among women aged 15-49 years, as AllAfrica informs. And her is the rest of it.

Minister Highlights Dangers of Female Circumcision

By Lorraine Connolly, Community Newswire HEALTH Circumcision Southwark, 01 Jul 2009 - 15:42 Maria Eagle, deputy minister for Women and Equality, spoke to education, health and third sector professionals on Tuesday, about the dangers of female genital mutilation (FGM). The Minister was speaking at an event held at the Globe Academy in Southwark to launch a factsheet designed to help raise awareness about this illegal and cruel practice. She highlighted the need for increased awareness and vigilance before the school summer holidays, a time when girls are at increased risk of being taken abroad to undergo the practice. Ms Eagle said: "Violence against women and girls is totally unacceptable. The Government is determined to tackle it, in all its forms. Female genital mutilation is a cruel practice, with devastating physical and psychological effects. "It has been banned in this country for nearly 25 years but in 2003 this Government went further and introduced legislation that made it illegal to take girls who are British nationals or permanent residents of the UK abroad to undergo this procedure. But we must continue to work together to protect the welfare of young girls." FGM, also known as 'female genital cutting' or 'female circumcision', is considered child abuse in the UK and is a violation of the human rights of girls and women. It is a procedure involving the partial or total removal of the female external genitalia for non-medical reasons. It has been estimated that up to 24,000 girls under the age of 15 are at risk of FGM in the UK. The practice largely affects the African community, although other communities can be affected, such as Yemini, Kurdish, Indonesian and Pakistani. The FGM factsheet explains what this practice is, who is affected by it, how to identify those at risk, health risks of FGM, and where to get further guidance. It will be distributed to professionals in schools and Local Safeguarding Children Boards. It will also be available on the Government Equalities Office Website at www.equalities.gov.uk or via Teachernet, www.teachernet.gov.uk. Tuesday's event was organised in conjunction with the Metropolitan Police's Project Azure campaign, which this year is focussing on FGM. For more information on local safeguarding children boards, visit www.everychildmatters.gov.uk.

Hope as law to prohibit genital mutilation is tabled

July 2, 2009 By Maria Jurua ON April 29, Dr. Chris Baryomunsi moved a motion in Parliament to prohibit female genital mutilation (FGM). A law that prohibits FGM is of obvious merit; it is part of a continuous process of the campaign to abolish the practice once and for all. Several countries around the world have outlawed FGM with explicit laws banning the practice. Currently, Guinea, Ghana, Djibouti, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Cote d'Ivoire, Tanzania, Togo, Senegal, US, Canada, Sweden, Norway, Australia, and the UK prohibit FGM. Genital mutilation represents gender-based violence and is a harmful traditional practice that violates women's rights to non-discrimination. Due to a series of possible short and long-term health effects, victims of FGM are denied fundamental human rights to life, freedom from torture, health, liberty and security of the person, privacy, religious freedom and freedom from discrimination. Girls subjected to the procedure are denied additional rights defined in the Constitution. The girls are also denied rights in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and Convention on the Rights of the Child, agreements to which Uganda is signatory. Uganda's move to legislative action specifically addressing FGM places the country in line with its international obligations under numerous international treaties. Although Ugandan law includes provisions regarding grievous harm, maiming, unlawful wounding and freedom from harmful practices, it does not include an explicit ban on FGM. A national prohibition on FGM is the best way to ensure that individuals who force girls and women to undergo FGM will be adequately punished under the law. An explicit law banning FGM is essential because the current legal provisions have not been and are not likely to be employed to combat the practice. Specific legislation serves to extinguish any doubt within the general community as to the illegality of FGM, by officially stating that the practice of FGM will not be tolerated. This is of particular importance in Uganda given previous doubts as to the adequacy and clarity of the law that can be used under the Penal Code. Legislation can provide legal protection and support to women and children who wish to resist the practice within their communities. Legislative action is not, however, without its critics. Nevertheless, many of the arguments voiced against legislation merely support the provisions of relevant international instruments such as the Declaration on Violence Against Women (1993) that in order for legislation to be effective, it must be accompanied by a broad and inclusive strategy for community-based education and awareness-raising. What should the proposed law entail? Prosecuting and punishing FGM would not be effective unless the proposed specific law contained the following principles: - Provision of a specific offence of FGM. - Creation of an offence where FGM is done by a medical doctor or any other health worker. This will be able to cover cases where victims are taken to doctors to carry out FGM. - Provision of compensation by the offender to the victim for the costs and injuries. - Rejection of consent on behalf of the victim and belief, custom, ritual or tradition as valid defenses. This provision will be in line with a number of international agreements that discredit culture and tradition as valid defenses. - Protection to victims of FGM. - Provision of a role for civil society Organisations and other victim support agencies to victims of FGM. This is because non-governmental organisations (NGOs) like Law-Uganda and REACH programme have been highly proactive in seeking to protect girls from FGM. Consequently, these NGOs need to be adequately provided with resources to advocate for the implementation of the law. - Regulation of extra territorial jurisdiction in order to close all the loopholes of carrying out genital mutilation in other countries. Imposition of a duty to a member of the health worker, medical doctor or practitioner and community, who knows that any person has committed or intends to commit FGM, to report the matter to the Police or other authority for appropriate action. It should be noted that effective implementation of a specific law prohibiting FGM is closely linked to knowledge and attitudes of professionals about particular groups that practice FGM, the practice itself, its different types, as well as to their knowledge of the laws and child protection procedures to follow in case a girl is at risk. It is, therefore, Law-Uganda's fervent hope that the proposed law will not be a symbolic gesture, but will serve as a tool for child protection, community education and empowerment.

Norway: Imam to Publish Book Against FGM

July 1, 2009

Imam Abdinur Mahamud in Trondheim wants to show that FGM (female genital mutilation) is in conflict with Islam. He therefore wrote a book on the issue, from the point of view of the Koran and Sharia.

He says he took the Koran and Sharia as the starting point in order to show that female circumcision isn't compatible with Islam.

The book discusses what is circumcision, and what Islam says about this, says Mahamud to Norwegian newspaper Adresseavisen.

The manuscript is being translated now to Norwegian and English and afterward to Somali. The imams hopes it will be published by the end of the year. There are references in the book to over 100 other sources including articles, books and statements by other imams.

Mahamud is crystal-clear that all forms of female circumcision are in conflict with Islam. The Koran's starting point is that God's creation shouldn't be changed, says the imam.

Source: NRK (Norwegian)And her is the rest of it.

Senegal's Queen of Hip-Hop Speaks Against Injustice with Sarabah

Sister Fa is Senegal's Queen of hip-hop. But getting to the top wasn't an easy road - for a woman to break through in an almost exclusively male field within a male-dominated society, it was a long, hard journey. Struggle breeds compassion, and Sister Fa uses her international album debut "Sarabah - Tales from the Flipside of Paradise" to speak out against the injustices rampant in her native country. Warm, groovy and unmistakably African, her raps, in Wolof, Manding, Jola and French, roll elegantly over beats as well as traditional sounds (kora and djembe), delivering tracks far removed from rap clichés, and more influenced by 80s Old School hip-hop than current Western forms of hip-hop. From the very beginning of her career, Sister Fa has dedicated herself to fight the wide-spread practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) in her country: "It's an operation that can kill - I've seen dead babies with my own eyes. We need to fight against this practice at all costs and get rid of it forever. But it is quite a complex problem. It's a practice that has been around for some 3000 years - I myself am a victim." It is a major taboo for a Senegal woman to raise her voice against this tradition, one which usually only foreign celebrities openly condemn, but during her "Education without Mutilation" tour in 2008, funded by Germany's cultural institution, the Goethe Institute, Sister Fa took her fight to the front lines: the Senegal cities and villages where FGM is most firmly established, hoping to sensitize the population of her homeland. For Sister Fa hip-hop is about raising awareness and denouncing the wrongs of life: "When you're a musician, you're an ambassador - you are here to defend and help people, not just to make music for money." FGM isn't the only issue she addresses on "Sarabah": there is the real story of a young girl in an arranged marriage ("Bou Souba Si Ngone"), AIDS messages aimed at women ("Life Am"), songs dealing with the plight of Senegal soldiers ("Soldat") and the hard-working lives of women in Senegal's countryside ("Milyamba"). "Hip Hop Yaw La Fal" is about the power of hip-hop, while in "Selebou Yoon" Sister Fa argues that hip-hop is in harmony with Islam. The latter was featured on the "Many Lessons - Hip Hop Islam West Africa" compilation (Piranha Musik, 2008).