By the UNHCR representation in Cyprus blog
“On Thursday they said I'd be married. On Friday they told me they'd cut me. At midnight I escaped.” Read the true, moving story of Fauziya Kassindja, the seventeen year old girl from Togo who fled her country to escape Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and life in a forced polygamous marriage.
After having lost her progressive father, who sheltered her from the brutal tribal practices, Fauziya fled her village in Togo and made her way to the U.S. in 1994, where she sought asylum; only to have her hopes for freedom failed. On arrival to the US, she was put in detention where she remained for 18 months before being finally granted asylum on the basis of gender-based persecution. It took a lot of strength derived from her profound faith to endure the new, unexpected form of suffering: Kassindja waited for her initial hearing in prison for over eight months to be falsely denied asylum on grounds of lack credibility. She remained in prison for a total of 18 months, during which she broke down and asked to be sent back to Togo to escape the nightmare she was going through in prison. In prison she was strip-searched, put in chains, put in solitary confinement for over two weeks after being misdiagnosed with tuberculosis, and housed in a maximum-security prison with violent criminals with her health deteriorating dangerously.
With the help of a cousin living in the US and a dedicated law student named Layli Miller Bashir, Kassindja obtained legal representation and prevented her eventual deportation. Bashir along with high profile FGM activists initiated a huge legal battle to free Kassindja and grant her asylum.
On June 13, 1996, Kassindja and her legal team won a landmark case that created the precedence for all seeking asylum in the US on the grounds of gender-based persecution.
An estimated 70 million girls and women living today have been subjected to FGM mostly in Africa. FGM, which is practiced in 28 African countries, ranges from cutting off part or all of a girl’s external genitalia. FGM is commonly performed by a village woman who specializes in the practice using knives, razor blades, and pieces of broken glass under unsanitary conditions and with no anesthesia. It can result in death through severe bleeding leading to hemorrhagic shock, neurogenic shock as a result of pain and trauma, and severe, overwhelming infection and septicaemia. Many girls enter a state of shock induced by the severe pain, psychological trauma and exhaustion from screaming.
It is today an established principle that FGM is a fundamental violation of the rights of girls. It is discriminatory and violates the rights to equal opportunities, health, freedom from violence, injury, abuse, torture and cruel or inhuman and degrading treatment, protection from harmful traditional practices, and to make decisions concerning reproduction. It is also an established principle of refugee law that a girl or woman seeking asylum because she has been compelled to undergo, or is likely to be subjected to FGM, can qualify for refugee status under the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees.
While FGM is illegal in many of the practicing countries, still more than one third of the women are circumcised and in some ethnic groups almost each and every young woman is subjected to the cut.
Apart from illustrating the injustice faced by millions of women in the world and the need to grant those women protection once they arrive in our doorstep, the book is an eye opener in many other respects. It’s also the story of dedicated, wonderful and talented individuals who made their own sacrifices in order to provide to Fauziya the most efficient legal support she could have ever received; had they not been so wholeheartedly involved she would have been sent back to her home country, probably facing an even worse nightmare than the one she escaped. The legal battles undertaken by the human rights activists were determinative in saving not only Fauziya’s life but setting the precedence for other women with similar horrible fates. This is a book that any asylum practitioner should read to see how careful one should be in adjudicating the credibility of an asylum claimant – how lack of multicultural awareness can easily lead to a conclusion that a claim seems “implausible” and hence to the rejection of an asylum claimant, such as Fauziya.
Above all, this is a book about the suffering of any refugee: the pain of separation from family and home, the loneliness of exile and often the unfair treatment refugees receive in reaching a third country seeking refuge. It’s also an eye opener for those who question the need for a fair and efficient asylum system and for those who perceive all asylum seekers as abusers of the system.
It’s a book that will not leave any reader untouched!
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Monday, April 12, 2010
Sub-Regional Conference on Female Genital Mutilation, "Towards a political and religious consensus against FGM"
February 2005
By No Peace Without Justice
Djibouti, 2-3 February 2005
Rapports des Sessions Thématiques:
By No Peace Without Justice
Djibouti, 2-3 February 2005
Rapports des Sessions Thématiques:
- Sessions Thématique 1. La position de l’Islam vis à vis des Mutilations Génitales Féminines: Report (Eng)/ Report (Fr)
- Sessions Thématique 2. Le Protocole de Maputo et la mise en œuvre des instruments législatifs et politiques pour le changement des conventions sociales:
- Impact of FGM on Women’s Health. Paper presented by Brikti Hbtai Tsefalassie, Project Director, NUEW, Eritrea
- A platform for action The Innocenti Digest on Female Genital Mutilation/Cutt. Paper presented by Michael Miller, Project Officer, IRC
- The Protocol on the rights of women in Africa to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' rights (the Maputo Protocol). Paper presented by Anthony Kuria Njoroge, Coordinator of the Africa Democracy Forum (ADF)
- Female Circumcision From Islamic Perspective (by DR. / MOHAMED SALIM AL-AWWA, Secretary General of the World Union of the Muslim Ulemas)
- The Great Muslim Scholars Disapprove of Female circumcision(by DR. / MOHAMED SALIM AL-AWWA, Secretary General of the World Union of the Muslim Ulemas)
- Discours de Mme Hawa Ahmed - Ministre délégué chargé de la Promotion de la Femme, du Bien-être Familial et des Affaires Sociales, Djibouti
- Allocution Du Dr Bernard Zoba, Commissaire Charge Des Infrastructures Et De L’energie Au Nom De Son Excellence Le Professeur Alpha Oumar Konare, President De La Commission De L’union Africaine A L’occasion De La Conference Sous-Regionale Sur La Mutilation Genitale Feminine
- CLOSING CEREMONY - M. Mogueh Dirir Samatar, Minister of Wakfs Good and Muslim Affairs, Djibouti
- Concept Paper
Friday, April 9, 2010
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.
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.
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.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Documentary: “Secret of the Dawn” Covers Efforts to Stop Female Genital Mutilation in Mali
April 6, 2010
By June Tsang - Our Bodies Ourselves
Every individual has a right to life… and to the integrity of their person.”
– Mali Constitution
On Thursday, April 8, Sini Sanuman and Healthy Tomorrow — sister organizations campaigning against female genital mutilation (FGM) in West Africa — will hold a screening in Cambridge, Mass., for the film “Secret of the Dawn.”
The documentary covers the story of the organizations’ efforts to stop excision in West Africa, in particular in Mali, in a culturally competent manner.
According to the World Health Organization, approximately 100 to 140 million women are living with the consequences of FGM, also known as female genital cutting, female genital modification, and female circumcision. Internationally, FGM is recognized as a violation of the human rights of girls and women. However, the practice is still prevalent in villages and cities of West Africa.
Within their society, women who have undergone FGM share a bond and are viewed as courageous. The practice also marks a woman as desirable and worthy of marriage. The act involves the removal of all or part of the clitoris and sometimes the narrowing of the vaginal opening — not only to increase pleasure for their future husbands, but for the societal opinion of aesthetically pleasing vaginas.
In an interview with Our Bodies, Our Blog, Susan McLucas, secretary general of Sini Sanuman and director of Healthy Tomorrow, said the film “follows a number of threads to show the complexity of the issue of FGM.”
Sini Sanuman utilizes a number of methods in villages in Mali to spread information about the negative health impacts of FGM, including song, dance and music videos.
The organization also recruits religious leaders, village chiefs, and former performers of excision. One video, “I Abandon,” features 17 former excisers who, during the chorus, throw their knives in a hole.
Above is a poster that Sini Sanuman distributes to its network of activists and partner groups. Here it is in French (as it appears in Mali). Click the poster to read the English version.
While this movement recognizes that a major barrier to preventing FGM is the lack of political rights, Sini Sanuman’s campaign focuses on educating people about the medical consequences of FGM, including life-threatening difficulties in childbirth, severe bleeding, incontinence, and high risks of HIV and tetanus.
Sini Sanuman and Healthy Tomorrow have succeeded in stopping excision in nine villages in Mali so far and are compiling a list of more than 300 villages around Mali that have stopped FGM with other NGOs. This list has inspired the government to organize a Forum of Villages in February, which was televised, The forum adopted a resolution encouraging the legislature to pass a law to ban FGM.
McLucas recounts a story about girls who did not undergo FGM singing at the ceremony in the village of Missalabougou, the fourth village to stop the practice.
“They were a chorus of unexcised girls singing about how happy they were to have been spared,” she said. “They couldn’t carry a tune, but it still made very good TV footage and was very moving.”
“Secret of the Dawn” covers the journey of Sini Sanuman in its struggle to stop excision in women across Mali by relating to them through music, their own political and religious leaders, community meetings, and through the experiences of women who live with the consequences of FGM. The movement to stop excision is gaining strength and the hope is that Mali will soon follow the path of its neighbors and outlaw FGM.
The screening will take place at 7 p.m. in the Cambridge Library in Central Square (take the red line to Central Square). Following the screening, McLucas will discuss the film and the Sini Sanuman organization.
June Tsang, an intern at Our Bodies Ourselves, is studying social policy and public health at Brandeis University.
By June Tsang - Our Bodies Ourselves
Every individual has a right to life… and to the integrity of their person.”
– Mali Constitution
On Thursday, April 8, Sini Sanuman and Healthy Tomorrow — sister organizations campaigning against female genital mutilation (FGM) in West Africa — will hold a screening in Cambridge, Mass., for the film “Secret of the Dawn.”
The documentary covers the story of the organizations’ efforts to stop excision in West Africa, in particular in Mali, in a culturally competent manner.
According to the World Health Organization, approximately 100 to 140 million women are living with the consequences of FGM, also known as female genital cutting, female genital modification, and female circumcision. Internationally, FGM is recognized as a violation of the human rights of girls and women. However, the practice is still prevalent in villages and cities of West Africa.
Within their society, women who have undergone FGM share a bond and are viewed as courageous. The practice also marks a woman as desirable and worthy of marriage. The act involves the removal of all or part of the clitoris and sometimes the narrowing of the vaginal opening — not only to increase pleasure for their future husbands, but for the societal opinion of aesthetically pleasing vaginas.
In an interview with Our Bodies, Our Blog, Susan McLucas, secretary general of Sini Sanuman and director of Healthy Tomorrow, said the film “follows a number of threads to show the complexity of the issue of FGM.”
Sini Sanuman utilizes a number of methods in villages in Mali to spread information about the negative health impacts of FGM, including song, dance and music videos.
The organization also recruits religious leaders, village chiefs, and former performers of excision. One video, “I Abandon,” features 17 former excisers who, during the chorus, throw their knives in a hole.
Above is a poster that Sini Sanuman distributes to its network of activists and partner groups. Here it is in French (as it appears in Mali). Click the poster to read the English version.
While this movement recognizes that a major barrier to preventing FGM is the lack of political rights, Sini Sanuman’s campaign focuses on educating people about the medical consequences of FGM, including life-threatening difficulties in childbirth, severe bleeding, incontinence, and high risks of HIV and tetanus.
Sini Sanuman and Healthy Tomorrow have succeeded in stopping excision in nine villages in Mali so far and are compiling a list of more than 300 villages around Mali that have stopped FGM with other NGOs. This list has inspired the government to organize a Forum of Villages in February, which was televised, The forum adopted a resolution encouraging the legislature to pass a law to ban FGM.
McLucas recounts a story about girls who did not undergo FGM singing at the ceremony in the village of Missalabougou, the fourth village to stop the practice.
“They were a chorus of unexcised girls singing about how happy they were to have been spared,” she said. “They couldn’t carry a tune, but it still made very good TV footage and was very moving.”
“Secret of the Dawn” covers the journey of Sini Sanuman in its struggle to stop excision in women across Mali by relating to them through music, their own political and religious leaders, community meetings, and through the experiences of women who live with the consequences of FGM. The movement to stop excision is gaining strength and the hope is that Mali will soon follow the path of its neighbors and outlaw FGM.
The screening will take place at 7 p.m. in the Cambridge Library in Central Square (take the red line to Central Square). Following the screening, McLucas will discuss the film and the Sini Sanuman organization.
June Tsang, an intern at Our Bodies Ourselves, is studying social policy and public health at Brandeis University.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
FORWARD calls to make female genital mutilation history
April 1, 2010
FORWARD
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is a violation of human rights and poses immediate and long-term health consequences to girls and women. * It currently affects 140 million women and girls. [Source: World Health Organisation] * In the UK alone, it is estimated that over 24,000 girls are at risk of FGM.
FORWARD
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is a violation of human rights and poses immediate and long-term health consequences to girls and women. * It currently affects 140 million women and girls. [Source: World Health Organisation] * In the UK alone, it is estimated that over 24,000 girls are at risk of FGM.
Despite this, there remains little awareness, particularly amongst young people, or engagement with communities and families.
Success in reducing the prevalence of FGM can only be achieved by actively working in partnership with communities and families, and empowering young people to speak out.
"Community engagement is a vital to change this complex practice of female genital mutilation. Creating spaces and dialogue to discuss and build skills of community stakeholders will help strengthen change and safeguard rights and wellbeing of affected communities." said FORWARD Executive Director Naana Otoo-Oyortey.
International Zero Tolerence to FGM Day provides an opportunity for everyone to raise their voices to Make FGM History.
FORWARD and its partners will continue to work to make this a reality and to safeguard the dignity and advance the sexual and reproductive health and human rights of African women and girls.
About FORWARD
The Foundation for Women’s Health Research and Development (FORWARD) is an African Diaspora women’s campaign and support charity. Our work responds to the need to safeguard dignity and advance the sexual and reproductive health and human rights of African women and girls. We work with individuals, communities and organizations to transform harmful practices and improve the quality of life of vulnerable girls and women.
We envision a world where women and girls live in dignity, are healthy and have choices and equal opportunities to fulfil their potential.
About The Gift
The Gift is a fictive monologue written by Zahrah Awaleh that deals with the realities and horrors of FGM. It gets inside the head of a young Somali woman who is on her way to her FGM reversal operation in a London hospital. In the monologue, she opens her heart to the listener, and in the process restores and reclaims her dignity and self-worth.
PDF file The Gift.pdf (.pdf 79.2 KB)
Success in reducing the prevalence of FGM can only be achieved by actively working in partnership with communities and families, and empowering young people to speak out.
"Community engagement is a vital to change this complex practice of female genital mutilation. Creating spaces and dialogue to discuss and build skills of community stakeholders will help strengthen change and safeguard rights and wellbeing of affected communities." said FORWARD Executive Director Naana Otoo-Oyortey.
International Zero Tolerence to FGM Day provides an opportunity for everyone to raise their voices to Make FGM History.
FORWARD and its partners will continue to work to make this a reality and to safeguard the dignity and advance the sexual and reproductive health and human rights of African women and girls.
About FORWARD
The Foundation for Women’s Health Research and Development (FORWARD) is an African Diaspora women’s campaign and support charity. Our work responds to the need to safeguard dignity and advance the sexual and reproductive health and human rights of African women and girls. We work with individuals, communities and organizations to transform harmful practices and improve the quality of life of vulnerable girls and women.
We envision a world where women and girls live in dignity, are healthy and have choices and equal opportunities to fulfil their potential.
About The Gift
The Gift is a fictive monologue written by Zahrah Awaleh that deals with the realities and horrors of FGM. It gets inside the head of a young Somali woman who is on her way to her FGM reversal operation in a London hospital. In the monologue, she opens her heart to the listener, and in the process restores and reclaims her dignity and self-worth.
PDF file The Gift.pdf (.pdf 79.2 KB)
Monday, April 5, 2010
Ending Female Genital Mutilation: Calling For A Comprehensive Strategy In UK And Europe
March 23, 2010
By Forward UK
These recommendations are based on human rights principles and informed by experiences of women and girls’ in Europe. Touring across five cities in Europe between February and March 2010, the END FGM European Campaign is urging European leaders to act against this violence against women, and particularly, the girl child.
FGM is a form of violence against women and girls and a human rights violation. The practice is illegal in the UK, yet in 2001 it was estimated that over 66,000 women and girls were affected by FGM in the UK and a 2005 study estimated around 32,000 girls were at high risk of FGM.
Christine McCafferty Member of Parliament and Chair of the APPG and delegate to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (CoE) says that:
“Since the APPG Parliamentary Hearings on FGM in 2000, the UK government has made progress in supporting the health needs of women and girls living with FGM, and the FGM Act 2003 has tightened legislation to prevent FGM. What is needed now is stronger multi-agency collaboration within the UK and Europe to ensure the full protection of all girls residing in Europe.
“I very much welcome CoE’s draft Convention to prevent and combat violence against women and domestic violence, which will prevent, combat and prosecute violence against women and promote international co-operation.”
Naana Otoo-Oyortey the Executive Director of FORWARD stresses that:
“While FGM features in the new UK strategy on violence against women and girls, there is still need for a national UK action plan on FGM. This is because the nature of FGM requires a commitment to a comprehensive EU strategy to end FGM globally and build bridges between communities in Africa and Europe.”
“The UK already has some promising initiatives in place to prevent FGM. It should use the existing EU framework to share such practices with other countries and take a leading role in the EU for protection of the rights of women and girls”, says Dr Christine Loudes, Campaign Director, END FGM European Campaign.
The five key dimensions through which the EU can protect women and girls living with, or at risk of, FGM are as follows:
•Collection of data on FGM prevalence in Europe
•Accessible and appropriate healthcare for women living with FGM
•Better protection mechanisms to address violence against women and children
•Clear asylum guidelines for those under threat of FGM, and
•Mainstreaming of FGM in EU’s dialogues on cooperation with third countries where FGM is prevalent
Leyla Hussein – an FGM survivor, a mother and a youth outreach worker - will be speaking about her personal experience of FGM at the launch event.
By Forward UK
FORWARD UK and Amnesty International’s END FGM European campaign call on European leaders to adopt concrete measures to end female genital mutilation (FGM) and to protect young girls and women affected by FGM who live in the European Union (EU).
In partnership with the UK All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Population, Development and Reproductive Health, FORWARD UK and END FGM European Campaign launched a strategy with practical recommendations for the EU in London on 22nd March 2010 in the Jubilee Room of the Houses of Parliament.These recommendations are based on human rights principles and informed by experiences of women and girls’ in Europe. Touring across five cities in Europe between February and March 2010, the END FGM European Campaign is urging European leaders to act against this violence against women, and particularly, the girl child.
FGM is a form of violence against women and girls and a human rights violation. The practice is illegal in the UK, yet in 2001 it was estimated that over 66,000 women and girls were affected by FGM in the UK and a 2005 study estimated around 32,000 girls were at high risk of FGM.
Christine McCafferty Member of Parliament and Chair of the APPG and delegate to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (CoE) says that:
“Since the APPG Parliamentary Hearings on FGM in 2000, the UK government has made progress in supporting the health needs of women and girls living with FGM, and the FGM Act 2003 has tightened legislation to prevent FGM. What is needed now is stronger multi-agency collaboration within the UK and Europe to ensure the full protection of all girls residing in Europe.
“I very much welcome CoE’s draft Convention to prevent and combat violence against women and domestic violence, which will prevent, combat and prosecute violence against women and promote international co-operation.”
Naana Otoo-Oyortey the Executive Director of FORWARD stresses that:
“While FGM features in the new UK strategy on violence against women and girls, there is still need for a national UK action plan on FGM. This is because the nature of FGM requires a commitment to a comprehensive EU strategy to end FGM globally and build bridges between communities in Africa and Europe.”
“The UK already has some promising initiatives in place to prevent FGM. It should use the existing EU framework to share such practices with other countries and take a leading role in the EU for protection of the rights of women and girls”, says Dr Christine Loudes, Campaign Director, END FGM European Campaign.
The five key dimensions through which the EU can protect women and girls living with, or at risk of, FGM are as follows:
•Collection of data on FGM prevalence in Europe
•Accessible and appropriate healthcare for women living with FGM
•Better protection mechanisms to address violence against women and children
•Clear asylum guidelines for those under threat of FGM, and
•Mainstreaming of FGM in EU’s dialogues on cooperation with third countries where FGM is prevalent
Leyla Hussein – an FGM survivor, a mother and a youth outreach worker - will be speaking about her personal experience of FGM at the launch event.
Friday, April 2, 2010
Stopping Female Genital Cutting
April 1, 2010
By USAID
Community development outreach workers and teachers help educate parents on dangers of female genital cutting
The USAID-funded Integrated Reproductive Health Services Project conducts community-level training to increase knowledge of, and change attitudes towards, specific health practices in Egypt. Included in community training programs are male and female religious leaders, literacy facilitators, Ministry of Health and community development association outreach workers, and agricultural extension workers. These trainings not only empower individuals to function as agents of change, but also ensure that community members hear consistent health messages from various sources. One of the messages the USAID training is working to reinforce is that female genital cutting is not safe nor is it necessary.
During a home visit, Sabreen El Teiri told an outreach worker of her plans to circumcise her youngest daughter as soon as she could afford the cost of the procedure. Because of the USAID training, the outreach worker knew female circumcision came with many complications. The outreach worker did not immediately comment, but went to see Iman Metwally, El Teiri's literacy class facilitator, to discuss ways to change El Teiri's mind.
Metwally raised the subject of female circumcision or female genital cutting during class and explained the hazards associated with the practice. She also gave the students examples of 13-year-old girls who are uncircumcised and are healthy without excessive sexual desire. Metwally told the class, "It is the mind that controls our desires and if we raise our daughters properly, they will grow up normal."
Metwally then visited El Teiri at home to discuss the dangers of female genital cutting, relaying the story of a girl who almost bled to death during the procedure. The outreach worker also revisited El Teiri and brought her posters and photos of the female genital cutting process.
Finally, El Teiri was convinced and managed to persuade her husband. The decision against circumcision was supported by the local religious leader as well as the local doctor who stated that circumcision is not a religious obligation and has many associated psychological, health and social complications.
The USAID training is planting the seeds of knowledge in Egyptian communities that are helping to prevent female genital cutting.
By USAID
Community development outreach workers and teachers help educate parents on dangers of female genital cutting
The USAID-funded Integrated Reproductive Health Services Project conducts community-level training to increase knowledge of, and change attitudes towards, specific health practices in Egypt. Included in community training programs are male and female religious leaders, literacy facilitators, Ministry of Health and community development association outreach workers, and agricultural extension workers. These trainings not only empower individuals to function as agents of change, but also ensure that community members hear consistent health messages from various sources. One of the messages the USAID training is working to reinforce is that female genital cutting is not safe nor is it necessary.
During a home visit, Sabreen El Teiri told an outreach worker of her plans to circumcise her youngest daughter as soon as she could afford the cost of the procedure. Because of the USAID training, the outreach worker knew female circumcision came with many complications. The outreach worker did not immediately comment, but went to see Iman Metwally, El Teiri's literacy class facilitator, to discuss ways to change El Teiri's mind.
Metwally raised the subject of female circumcision or female genital cutting during class and explained the hazards associated with the practice. She also gave the students examples of 13-year-old girls who are uncircumcised and are healthy without excessive sexual desire. Metwally told the class, "It is the mind that controls our desires and if we raise our daughters properly, they will grow up normal."
Metwally then visited El Teiri at home to discuss the dangers of female genital cutting, relaying the story of a girl who almost bled to death during the procedure. The outreach worker also revisited El Teiri and brought her posters and photos of the female genital cutting process.
Finally, El Teiri was convinced and managed to persuade her husband. The decision against circumcision was supported by the local religious leader as well as the local doctor who stated that circumcision is not a religious obligation and has many associated psychological, health and social complications.
The USAID training is planting the seeds of knowledge in Egyptian communities that are helping to prevent female genital cutting.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
86 Girls and their Families say "No!" to Female Genital Mutilation
December 18, 2009
By Women's Global Education Project
This past December 18, 2009, 86 girls from the village of Gatunga in Tharaka, Kenya, graduated from our alternative rite of passage program, saying "No!" to the culturally-entrenched practice of female genital mutilation.
The girls were celebrated at the graduation ceremony by family, friends, community members, village leaders, and North Tharaka District Commissioner Yaloo.
Mr. Yaloo, the ceremony's guest of honor, commended the girls and their families for refusing circumcision and encouraged them to focus on attaining their educational goals. He talked about how the attitude towards this issue was changing in the community, saying, "It's only through education that girls can become real women." This message was also reinforced by the other speakers: graduate Caroline Kithega, parent Kagwiria John, other village leaders, and Women's Global Kenya Project Coordinator Aniceta Kiriga--as well as by the uplifting, anti-FGM songs and dances performed by the graduates.
The graduation ceremony capped a week-long workshop that discussed health and reproductive issues, relationships, gender issues, and self-esteem, and which focused on empowerment.
Learn more about Circumcision With Words and our work to fight female genital mutilation in the Tharaka region of Kenya.
By Women's Global Education Project
This past December 18, 2009, 86 girls from the village of Gatunga in Tharaka, Kenya, graduated from our alternative rite of passage program, saying "No!" to the culturally-entrenched practice of female genital mutilation.
The girls were celebrated at the graduation ceremony by family, friends, community members, village leaders, and North Tharaka District Commissioner Yaloo.
Mr. Yaloo, the ceremony's guest of honor, commended the girls and their families for refusing circumcision and encouraged them to focus on attaining their educational goals. He talked about how the attitude towards this issue was changing in the community, saying, "It's only through education that girls can become real women." This message was also reinforced by the other speakers: graduate Caroline Kithega, parent Kagwiria John, other village leaders, and Women's Global Kenya Project Coordinator Aniceta Kiriga--as well as by the uplifting, anti-FGM songs and dances performed by the graduates.
The graduation ceremony capped a week-long workshop that discussed health and reproductive issues, relationships, gender issues, and self-esteem, and which focused on empowerment.
Learn more about Circumcision With Words and our work to fight female genital mutilation in the Tharaka region of Kenya.
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