Inform. Connect. Empower
Africa's Change Makers Magazine
Hundreds of West African communities declare end to female genital mutilation - campaigners
A woman wears a veil while weaving at Kidal in northeastern Mali, in this 2012 archive photo. REUTERS/Adama Diarra
Critics say they expect that some communities keep cutting girls after declaring their opposition to the practice
FGM affects an estimated 140 million girls and women across a swathe of Africa and parts of the Middle East and Asia, and is seen as a gateway to marriage and a way of preserving purity.
More than 300 communities across four West African countries with some of the world's highest rates of female genital mutilation (FGM) are this month declaring themselves free of the practice in public ceremonies, a campaign group said on Tuesday.
The communities have agreed to abandon FGM after three or more years of discussions about human rights and social change, said women's rights group Tostan, which is behind the drive.
The declarations are taking place in Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali and Mauritania, according to Senegal-based Tostan.
"The declarations are an
opportunity for community members to openly and collectively commit
to ending harmful traditional practices, including women in
decision-making processes, and ensuring the rights and safety of
children," the group's spokeswoman Joya Taft-Dick
said
Women's rights and gender equality, we highlights issues affecting women, girls and transgender people.
FGM affects an estimated 140 million girls and women across a swathe of Africa and parts of the Middle East and Asia, and is seen as a gateway to marriage and a way of preserving purity.
The ritual involves the removal of the external genitalia and causes numerous health problems that can be fatal.
Critics of Tostan's approach say it expects attitudes towards FGM to change too quickly and that some communities keep cutting girls after declaring their opposition to the practice.
All You Need To Know About FGM | End FGM
As the world marks International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation, UNICEF figures reveal that 70 million more women than previously thought have been cut. The UK’s leading FGM consultant Dr Comfort Momoh MBE explains what FGM is and its consequences.
While the public declarations do not always guarantee an end to FGM, they do at least spark community-wide discussions about harmful practices and social change, said Taft-Dick of Tostan.
Support for FGM among women and girls is rising in Guinea, which has the second highest rate in the world after Somalia with around 97 percent of women and adolescent girls cut, the United Nations rights office said in April.
Nine in 10 girls and women have been cut in Mali, which has the world's fifth highest rate of FGM and is one of the few West African nations, along with Liberia and Sierra Leone, where the practice remains legal.
"These declarations are happening in some of the countries where female genital cutting prevalence is the highest in Africa, I am truly convinced ... it is possible to witness the end of cutting in one generation," said Tostan founder Molly Melching.
Some 3 million people across eight West African nations live in communities that have declared an end to FGM, Tostan said.
Thomson Reuters Foundation
YOU MAY ALSO
LIKE:...
GREAT DEALS FOR
YOU:...
SUGGESTED FOR
YOU
SPONSORED CONTENT
YOUR SHOPPING MADE EASY
Africa's Change Makers Magazine
COMPANY
AFRICAN ACHIEVERS INTERNATIONAL Inc. is a global media and technology company including lifestyle media publisher SEMA AFRICA
online
Magazine AFRICAN ACHIEVERS MAGAZINE, digital shopping
platform PA-BEAUTY STATION.COM, event management
PRIDE OF AFRICA, awards program AfIA
AWARDS, youth and talent development, PILLARS OF
HOPE and AAK, Volunteerism
UNIVERSIDAY grassroots community support
NAD and financial support
REMITGROW and monthly subscription box AAi Must
Have. ....
More from African Achievers International
FOLLOW US
SUBSCRIBE
