Breaking the cycle of Female Genital Cutting

February 25, 2010
By Patrick Dewhurst

FEMALE Genital Mutilation (FGM) is now a growing concern for Cypriot healthcare professionals, but a visiting expert was yesterday optimistic about ending the barbaric practice across Europe.

Leyla Hussein, a British healthcare worker with Somalian parents – and a former FGM victim – told gathered Cypriot, EU and NGO representatives, “There is hope. I am proof that you can break the cycle.”

The representatives were gathered to discuss and promote a campaign to eradicate FGM in Europe and in Cyprus.

Entitled “End FGM”, the campaign is being led by Amnesty International and also aims to establish a comprehensive and coherent EU-wide approach to the problem, from offering asylum through to social welfare services and education of men in practising communities.

FGM, defined by the World Health Organisation as “All procedures that involve the total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons” is an established practice in 28 African countries, across the Middle East and in Asia. It affects up to 140 million girls and women worldwide.

However, it is not just a matter for third countries; the practice is happening Europe. Christine Loudes, Director of the programme, said yesterday “We have to remember that FGM is an EU issue.

“The European Parliament estimates that there are around 500,000 cases in Europe, and 180,000 young girls at risk from parents who continue the practice.”

Already a number of cases have appeared in Cyprus. The anti-racism organisation, KISA cites the case of one asylum applicant who was a victim of FGM, while a clinic owner at yesterday’s conference had two clients who had been mutilated.

Though the government has no recorded cases, Elena Neocleous of the Interior Ministry recognised the need for more measures.

“For example, in France it is criminalised and they have taken measures to prevent parents taking daughters abroad for FGM.”

Dina Akkelidou, President of the House Committee on Equal Opportunities, said “The average age of FGM is between four and eight, and it happens on average every 10 seconds.

“It threatens life and health, and does irreversible mental and psychological damage. Moreover, it is a serious form of discrimination and a cultural offence.”

FGM is now recognised as being in contravention to the Geneva conventions, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and European Law.

It is therefore grounds for asylum. Any woman who has suffered or could potentially suffer FGM in the future has the right to asylum. Neocleous also confirmed that parents (including fathers) of young daughters who could be victims were entitled to asylum.

So far in 2010, only five of 32 applicants have been women (and one reported FGM abuse). However, given that in Egypt, 96 per cent of women are estimated to be victims, there is a high chance that many women will arrive in Cyprus bearing the physical and mental scars. Many will be too afraid to mention it, or be unaware that this is grounds for asylum.

The programme therefore aims to educate authorities about best practices in treating victims. Hussein said, “I was lucky to meet a service that knew how to speak to me, not as if I was an alien.

“It is important that everyone who works with FGM victims, such as police, immigration and doctors understands the issues. Especially important are the men. If they refuse to marry a mutilated girl, it will end immediately.”

Senegal’s First Region-Wide Declaration of FGC and Child/Forced Marriage Abandonment: Communities in Kédougou Accelerate Towards Goal of Total Abandonment by 2015

February 25, 2010
By Tostan

KÉDOUGOU, Senegal, 19 February 2010—256 villages from the region of Kédougou gathered on Sunday, February 21, to announce and celebrate their historic decision to abandon the harmful traditions of female genital cutting (FGC) and child/forced marriage. In this first region-wide declaration in Senegal, 108 villages publicly declared their abandonment of FGC and child/forced marriage for the first time, alongside 148 additional villages that confirmed their continued commitment to the promotion of the rights and health of women and girls.

In spite of the intense heat, roughly 2,500 people travelled from through-out the region to attend the day-long celebration in the Municipal Stadium in the town of Kédougou. Amongst other government officials, religious and community leaders in attendance, the Minister of Communication and Ndeye Khady Diop, Minster of the Family, National Solidarity, Food Security, Female Entrepreneurship, Microfinance and Infancy, flew to Kédougou from Dakar especially for the ceremony. Also present were the Mayor and Governor of the Kédougou Region and the Chief District Officer from the Department of Mali, Republic of Guinea who accompanied representatives from Guinean communities abandoning these practices along with their extended family networks.

Representing the 108 declaring villages, three young girls from the youth network of the region, including Hassatou Boubane, President of the network, read the declaration of abandonment in Manding, Pulaar, and French. Youth and dance groups entertained the crowds with sketches explaining their reasons for wanting to abandon FGC, as well as dance and music.

The declaration in Kédougou followed just two days after the launch of Senegal's National Action Plan for the Abandonment of FGC 2010-2015, which was launched at a ceremony in Dakar on Friday, February 19th and represents a significant step towards the Government’s goal of complete abandonment of FGC in Senegal by 2015.

According to the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS), over 57% of the Pulaar, Mandinka, Djalonké, and Bassari communities in the Kédougou region practice FGC and/or child/forced marriage.

Since October 2007, 50 villages in Kédougou have participated directly in the Tostan Community Empowerment Program (CEP). An additional 211 villages in Kédougou and neighboring Guinea and Mali have been sensitized to issues of human rights, health, hygiene and the risks of FGC through outreach activities such as community-run radio programs, part of the community communication strategy that Tostan calls "organized diffusion."

Amongst the 211 villages reached, 41 of these communities are located in Guinea and 10 are in Mali. This collective and cross-border decision to abandon FGC and child/forced marriage was made possible through the organization of international community meetings in 2009.

Tostan has been engaged in the region of Kédougou since 2002, where declarations have taken place twice before in Tomborokonto and Salémata. With the support of UNICEF, the Government of Senegal, and community and religious leaders, all communities of the region of Kédougou will now join the historic movement for the abandonment of FGC and child/forced marriage started by the women of the village of Malicounda Bambara in 1997.

Since 1997, a total of 4,229 villages (84%) in Senegal that traditionally practiced FGC and child/forced marriage have publicly declared their decision to abandon these harmful practices, a number which has led to claims that Senegal will be the first country to totally abandon FGC.

The declaration was preceded by a press panel on Saturday, February 20, in Fadiga, two kilometers from the town of Kédougou. Press had the opportunity to learn about both the processes behind the historic declaration as well as other community-led successes amongst villages participating in and reached through the Tostan CEP.

Gamcotrap Recruits Niani Elders In Fgm Fight

February 24, 2010
By Today News Paper

GAMCOTRAP, a non governmental organization, is recruiting the elders of Niani in its campaign against female genital mutilation and cutting (FGM/C). 

According to a press release from the organization, over one hundred participants from nine communities recently converged in Wassu to discuss FGM alongside other issues affecting the sexual and reproductive health rights of women and children in an UNFPA-backed initiative.

The objective of the community sensitization is to work with traditional leaders within the district to support the abandonment of harmful traditional practices in particular FGM and domestic violence in their communities as well as promote the sexual and reproductive health rights of women and children.

Speaking on behalf of the chief of Niani, the Alkalo of Madina Lamin Kanteh, Faburama Kanteh thanked GAMCOTRAP for bringing the campaign to stop FGM to their district. According to him, this was the first time they have had any such training on the effects FGM has on the sexual and reproductive health and rights of women and girls. He called on traditional leaders to support the campaign to protect their women and children and appealed to GAMCOTRAP to reach out to the other clusters in the district.

In her statement, Dr. Isatou Touray, executive director of GAMCOTRAP, noted the effect FGM has on maternal and child health.

She informed the participants that The Gambia's participation at the Commission on the Status of Women in New York is an indication of the country's commitment to international and regional conventions and protocols to improve the lives of women and girls in particular, thus The Gambia reporting to the Commission on the status of women.

She further informed them that Gambian parliamentarians are being engaged to enable them to pass a law against FGM, making reference to the Declaration against FGM by the Gambian parliamentarians in September 2009.

The GAMCOTRAP executive director also noted the importance of awareness creation on FGM and the need for a law to protect women and girls. She called on parents to discipline their children to be responsible citizens and for couples to engage in dialogue and be part of the wind of change to stop FGM.

Islamic Scholars Muhamadou Sanuwo and Abubacarr Kanteh of Soma enlightened the participants about Islam and the debate on FGM and women's rights in general.

It was noted that Islam promotes equality and partnership between men and women, thus created them in pairs.

They further enlightened the participants on the process of understanding Islam from its principles and sources from the Holy Quran, Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad and the various classifications of Hadiths.

It was pointed out that Islam respects human live and therefore any act that could cause harm to human beings would not be accepted as part of the faith. They called for reflection of practices and the issues raised.

The outcome of the training included consensus amongst participants to stop FGM and a circumciser from Wassu village, Nakebba Fofana making a declaration at the training that after having realised the impact of FGM on women and girls, she has joined her cluster to stop FGM.

This decision was applauded by the participants and representatives of the women elders' reiterated their commitment to change and to protect girls from FGM.

The Wassu Tolay Kafo also asserted their commitment to the campaign by affiliating with GAMCOTRAP.

The training brought together elders, male and female including Imams and Alkalolu, women and youth leaders in the Wassu cluster.

A Powerful New Opportunity to End Female Genital Cutting in Senegal

February 24, 2010
By Molly Melching for the Huffington Post

Last Friday, the Senegalese Government launched a National Action Plan for achieving its goal of total abandonment of female genital cutting (FGC) by 2015. This may not seem noteworthy as governments around the world launch plans and programs on this and other development issues each year: some are good, many go unnoticed or unfunded, still others never really get off the ground.

Yet this action plan is something unique and it deserves our full attention. This is a rare case of a government willing not only to respond to the will of its people, but willing to respond with care and to implement a strategy that was developed and proven first at the grassroots level.

FGC is a painful and dangerous practice, yet laws passed by governments across Africa have for decades had little effect because FGC is a cultural practice linked to status, honor, and marriageability. In many countries it is simply impossible to enforce these laws because large percentages of the population still practice FGC and it is simply impossible to imprison all of the hundreds of mothers, fathers, and other family members who have their daughters cut. Thus, even in Senegal where a law banning FGC was passed in 1999, the practice has continued unabated in many communities.

The number of communities in Senegal still practicing FGC, however, is shrinking rapidly as the result of a widespread social movement. The movement began in 1997 when a group of 30 women going through the Tostan education program in the village of Malicounda Bambara decided to abandon the practice publicly. A local village chief, Demba Diawara, joined the women's efforts and showed Tostan that to end FGC, one must work respectfully with the whole community and its extended social network and hold public commitment ceremonies to mark abandonment.

Since 1997, thousands of community activists have joined the movement that those first 30 women started and over the past 14 years their collective efforts have built a movement that now includes over 4,200 communities in Senegal, Burkina Faso, The Gambia, Guinea, and Somalia that have publicly declared their abandonment of FGC.

This movement is an example of how lasting social change can occur through the leadership of informed grassroots activists: mothers and fathers, youth, and traditional and religious leaders. Yet, such movements still need support and reinforcement. In making a formal endorsement of the human rights approach in their National Action Plan, the Government of Senegal has made a bold and historic move. The government has chosen to give highest priority to a coordinated strategy rooted in empowering communities through human rights education to bring about the total abandonment of FGC by 2015.

For too long now, many have believed that the best way to address this issue is punitive legislation. Laws can punish, but laws combined with effective policy can educate and empower communities. Yes, there must be laws against FGC, but there must also be support for the transition to a system in which those laws can be effectively and justly applied. In Tostan's experience, this transition involves communities understanding and applying their human rights and responsibilities, and it is wonderful to see this so clearly laid out by the Senegalese government. I am certain that this movement, and the government's deepened commitment to it, can become a model for addressing other harmful social traditions as well.

To seek to understand FGC and why families practice it is not to excuse it. The families Tostan works with have often suffered the consequences of the practice. The women and girls have experienced hemorrhage, serious infection, and complications during childbirth. Some parents have even watched their daughters die. The government has a duty to protect these young girls.

I am thankful however that the 2010-2015 Government of Senegal National Action Plan places priority on empowering education and working respectfully with those communities involved to bring about positive social change. I believe millions of girls will be thankful also

Developing a Common European Asylum Strategy

End Female Genital Mutilation (FGM):
Developing a Common European Asylum Strategy
Wednesday 24th February
EU House, Nicosia

The Mediterranean Institute of Gender Studies in cooperation with the European Parliament Office in Cyprus will host an event tomorrow, Wednesday, February 24, 2010 titled End Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) - Developing a Common European Asylum Strategy.

For questions, visit the Mediterranean Institute of Gender Studies website.

Commemorating the ban on female genital mutilation in Eritrea

February 22, 2010
By Kutloano Leshomo

ASMARA, Eritrea, 22 February 2010 – Letenkiel Misghina, a former practitioner of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C), recently attended an all-day event commemorating the banning of the practice in Eritrea. The colourful procedings included speeches, poems, testimonies, information sessions, a marathon, a bicycle race and a carnival.
At the event, Ms. Misghina, 63, recounted the horror she experienced in 1993 when she was circumcizing her first granddaughter. The child bled so much that she turned pale blue. Fortunately, she survived, but it was a close call.
Ms. Misghina had learned how to perform female genital mutilation from her grandmother, who circumcised her first daughter. Ms. Misghina then performed the practice on her next five daughters. But after the scare with her granddaughter, she swore never again to perform FGM/C.
“We thought it was our ancestor’s beliefs, but it is just the devil’s work,” she said.


Three years on
In 2007, the Government of Eritrea passed a proclamation banning FGM/C. An intensive, multi-faceted advocacy and mobilization campaign ensued, aiming to change attitudes among different groups of society – including traditional birth attendants, circumcizers, community elders and religious leaders.
Speaking at the anniversary event, UNICEF Deputy Representative in Eritrea Juan Carlos Espinola Ayala called FGM/C a violation of human rights and, in particular, children’s rights. He implored everyone to stop the practice and congratulated the Eritrean Government for passing the proclamation banning it.

Despite the ban, much work is still needed to ensure the full elimination of FGM/C in Eritrea, where the practice is still seen by many as an important factor in attaining social acceptance and improving girls' marriage prospects.

Advocates for change

In 2002, the Eritrean Demographic and Health Survey showed that 89 per cent of Eritrean women had been cut. This prevalence rate is among the highest on the African continent. In the survey, 42 per cent of women said the practice was beneficial for social acceptance; 25 per cent for marriage prospects; and 18 per cent for religious approval.
Since the ban, it appears that traditional birth attendants and circumcizers have increasingly dropped the practice and become advocates for change. UNICEF Eritrea’s goal is to attain a 30 per cent reduction in the practice of FGM/C by 2011.
The European Community, the Swedish Government and the Swiss National Committee forto UNICEF have contributed financial resources to facilitate the abandonment of this and other harmful traditional practices in Eritrea.

© UNICEF Eritrea/2010/Leshomo

FGM, once a taboo now a breached silence

February 21, 2010
By The Kurdish Globe

Encouraged by houses built by the KRG, Kulajo residents return home.

"I was seven or eight years old, playing on the street opposite our house when I heard girls yelling and screaming. I followed the sounds and it preceded to a neighbor's house; the front yard was packed with young girls my age, whispering each other of their fear." Begins Fatma Aziz*, as she recalls her story of the day she escaped from becoming a victim to Female Genital Mutilation.

"There was a room with an old lady, my friends told me she had a knife with her, I put my head through the door and saw the old lady, wearing black head to toe, there were a lot of girls lying on the ground crying." Aziz now realized those girls were 'done' and the turn was coming to those terrified in the front yard.

"The old woman saw me and called out 'bring her in', I ran as fast as I could back to our house and reported what I had seen to my mother. My mother did not let me leave the house until the old lady was gone."

Aziz knows, if she had not ran as fast she did that day, she too, like her friends in the village, over 55 years ago, would have also been circumcised, or mutilated. She is one of the few success stories, as the phenomenon over half a century ago was not rare in the Kurdish region.

Recently, a German relief organization, WADI, Association for Crisis Assistance and Development Cooperation, published results to a study of the prevalence of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in the Kurdistan region.

In the study a total of 1408 women were interviewed, the survey results, according to WADI revealed that the overall mutilation rate in the Kurdish region, except Duhok amounts to 72.7%, In Erbil the rate is lower at 63.0% and Suleymaniya is 77.9%. The higher rates of FGM stand at 81.2% in the Garmyan and the New Kirkuk areas.

Shna Abdulla * is a university student who argues that the results of the study, to a large degree, are not a clear reflection of the Kurdish society and the participants are not selected randomly. "I know from my relatives and friends, many of my direct family members are not circumcised, I can speak for many others are well." Although she does confirm in the villages this is a different story, but not to the extent that has been demonstrated in the study.

"You cannot selectively survey a thousand women and use them as an example representing all other females in the Kurdistan Region" said Revan Sherko* another student, she points out: "I come from a village and so do all my relatives and family, and we never experienced what is stated in the study, it did happen, but they were a few households that practiced the routine on their female children."

The study does affirm that "today, the odds of girls escaping mutilation seem to be better than only some decades ago. Among women under the age of 20, the mutilation rate is 57.0%, while in the 30-39 age group, it is 73.8%. The rate rises up to 95.7% among women over 80." These results are a clear illustration that the rate of FGM is decreasing generation after generation.

Most women, who have undergone the process of FGM, went through the same experience as Aziz. Going under the hands of an old lady who had plenty of experience, as 80% of those interviewed alleged to be victims of the FGM process at home and 13.5% at a neighbor's house.

Some of the ideas that have been revolving around the idea of FGM, Aziz explains that food prepared by an uncircumcised women was allegedly unhalal.

The analysis of the results revealed a clear link between Islam and the practice of FGM. "The considerable influence of Islamic religious authorities on the practice of mutilation is evident. Thus almost one third of the women who indicated that FGM was a common practice in their communities also indicated that the local mullah supports the mutilation." When participants of the Garmiyan and New Kirkuk areas were questioned regarding the reasons of their mutilation, 84.7% said religion is the main reason, in Suleimaniya this stands at 32.7% and 17.8% in Erbil. Those in Erbil and Suleimaniya stated that tradition played a larger role.

"FGM is extremely taboo in Erbil governorate and only a few men in this governorate even know that it goes on." The study further clarifies that "Other indices support the conclusion that men in the Erbil region are largely disconnected from the practice of FGM. Thus, only one interviewee in Erbil affirmed that her husband had forced her to mutilate their daughter,"

The issue of FGM still remains a taboo in most households, but recently becoming an open issue in society, where both governmental and non-governmental organizations are working to erase the culturally rooted phenomenon that is undertaken on the basis of religion. Yet the study has been proven to be an exaggeration and does not by any means represent the entire female population of Kurdistan.

* Names have been changed for ethical reasons

Kenya: A call to end female genital mutilation

February 19, 2010
By Lucy Murunga -  World Vision

At the age of only eleven years, Irene was forced to run away from her home to escape what the community made her believe was a traditional obligation - female genital mutilation.

Through the support of World Vision, Irene has been offered a safe haven in a rescue centre that accommodates girls who have been circumcised against their wish or who, like her, are escaping the practice.

World Vision’s programme manager in the Marigat area of Kenya, Pamela Wamalwa, expresses optimism in World Vision's anti-mutilation campaign. The prevalence of genital cutting and early marriage is slowly but steadily decreasing in the area.

“We have been working closely with community members, educating them on the negative effects,” explains Wamalwa. Instead of the traditional ceremony in which the girls had to be circumcised, now they undergo an alternative rite of passage. Communities maintain the rituals that lead adolescent girls to womanhood but exclude the dangerous cutting.

Finding new ways to make a living

Female circumcisers, who did not want to be identified for fear of being condemned, expressed their willingness to stop the practice only if the government assisted them with alternative income generating activities.

Through KADET, a microfinance unit of World Vision, many women are able to access loans to start up small businesses.

“Through the organisation’s projects in the [programme area] like water, food security, microfinance and education, community members are keener on development,” explains Wamalwa.

Alternative rite of passage

Tabitha Parteneu, World Vision’s girl child project coordinator cannot hide her joy as she prepares more than 80 girls for graduation.

She explains why the alternative rite of passage is such an important part of the girls upbringing while removing the risks of bleeding, blood poisoning, shock and childbirth problems that often follow female genital mutilation, also called FGM.

“We put the girls in a secluded place for one or two weeks and train them on the effects of FGM, early marriage and HIV and AIDS,” she explains.

“We also train them on life skills, the advantages of not undergoing FGM and address attitude change. We train the boys as well to make them understand why girls do not have to undergo circumcision.”

This December, 89 girls were awarded certificates and 27 boys trained. The ceremony is held every April, August and December.

Irene has just graduated. “I am very happy today because I went through [the rite], and have graduated to adulthood without losing my dignity,” she says.

Poverty and early marriage

Zakayo Lolpejalai, World Vision programme manager for the North Rift area in Kenya, says that the community has become so enslaved to the retrogressive beliefs that girls have no say in what happens to their bodies. Society makes decisions for them and holds that once the girls are circumcised then they are ready for marriage.

“More often than not, the girls are married off to men old enough to be their grandfather,” he adds. "The parents receive blankets, sugar and tobacco in exchange for the girls.”

Lolpejalai also cites poverty as the major causes of early marriages. The sentiment is echoed by Samuel Lerono, a member of the Ilchamus Moran dancers. Lerono narrates how his two sisters were married off in their early teenage years.

“We held celebrations all night and the next day my sisters were gone,” he explains. "Maybe if we had refused to conform to traditions things would have been different. I vowed the same will not happen to my daughters.”

Lerono deems it unfair to deny the girls education and a decent life by resigning them to tradition. He sings in all community gatherings his message, “stop FGM, and educate the girls”. He makes an appeal to his fellow parents to embrace change, emphasising that mutilating girls is a barbaric and archaic act that must be shunned.

An important role for government

As the fight against the practice goes on among the Njemps community in the Baringo Central area, law enforcement officers and political leaders in the region are playing their part. Leaders have stated in different gatherings that the vice must be rooted out for good.

Peter Kitilit, an administrative officer in the region says they have partnered with World Vision to ensure that girls are protected and the people who practice female circumcision are apprehended.

“We have managed to educate parents in local gatherings and convince them that circumcising girls is not a gate into womanhood. For those who do not cooperate we let the law deal with them,” he explains.

According to Kitilit, prevalence has decreased by 25%.

Ending FGM

Seventeen-year-old Daisy has just completed her high school education. “I said 'no' to FGM because I knew the dangers,” she says, adding that the alternative rite “is a decent way of transitioning girls to adulthood without exposing them to health complications."

Sixty-year-old Napunyu Letaparkwe practised girls’ circumcision for more than thirty years. Now she has stopped. “I have heard of girls who bled to death during the process,” she says.

Caroline Nalianya, child rights national coordinator at World Vision Kenya, says female genital mutilation is a child protection issue. “The children and sexual offences acts passed in 2006 outlaws FGM,” she explains.

“FGM affects the education of the girl child, causing premature school drop-outs and early marriage. The girl's life stops the moment she is married off, hence denying her life in all its fullness. FGM infringes the rights of the girl child. It is a health right for them not to be circumcised.

“World Vision is committed to the protection and well-being of all children in Kenya and through partnership with the ministry of education and other government departments, we have been able to tap into funds set aside for women to provide an alternative source of income to female circumcisers,” explains Nalianya.

Changing attitudes

The area Member of Parliament, Hon. Sammy Mwaita, expresses appreciation for World Vision's efforts to raise public awareness through education campaigns and encouraging alternative rites of passage.

World Vision has assisted the community through the construction of two dormitories which have acted as rescue centres for girls as they wait to be reconciled with their parents.

“We are dealing with people who are deeply entrenched in cultural beliefs. At times, when you tell them to abandon the FGM practice, they feel like they are being coerced into discarding their culture,” explains Mwaita.

“We as the leadership in this area want to emphasise that FGM is not an obligation. It lowers the dignity of women." We have role models who have succeeded in the community because they got an education which could have been impossible if they saluted tradition,” he continues.

"Attitude change takes time. We will meet resistance and the practice cannot be stopped overnight, but the efforts will go a long way.”