FGM

FGM raises its ugly head in Sri Lanka with Kerala Support

By Bintari Hamza Zafar

#February6th: The International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation (#FGM): Celebrating Victories

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Efua Dorkenoo OBE, the ‘incredible African female warrior’, has died

Efua Dorkenoo, widely seen as the mother of the global movement to end female genital mutilation, has died after undergoing treatment for cancer, her family have confirmed. She was 65. Dorkenoo – known affectionately to many as “mama Efua” – was a leading light in the movement to bring an end to FGM for more than 30 years, campaigning against the practice since the 1980s.

MEET A DEFENDER: DR ISATOU TOURAY

An unwavering commitment to ‘drop the knife’ in The Gambia

WHRDIC supports many women human rights defenders who fight for women’s and girls’ sexual and reproductive rights, including the right to be free from female genital mutilation (FGM).

Despite being banned by the United Nations, this harmful practice continues to affect over 100 million women worldwide.

With almost four out of every five women in The Gambia experiencing FGM, it is a brave woman indeed who would campaign against such an established practice.

Dr. Isatou Touray, co-founder and executive director of Gambia Committee on Traditional Practices (GAMCOTRAP), is committed to ‘knife-dropping’, or ending the brutal custom of FGM in her country.

New study in Oman shows high prevalence of FGM all over the country

January 22nd 2014

64% of all female participants said FGM was still practiced in the family.

According to a new study from Oman, female genital mutilation constitutes a widespread phenomenon in Oman in all age groups, and among women from all regional and educational backgrounds. Out of 100 women questioned 78 stated to be circumcised. The human rights activist and statistician Habiba Al Hinai conducted the study “Female Genital Mutilation in the Sultanate of Oman” in cooperation with Stop FGM Middle East for which she interviewed 100 female and 100 male participants in hospital waiting areas, shoppings malls and fast food restaurants in the capital Muscat.

A Short Guide to Understanding Female Genital Cutting

Female genital cutting (FGC) used to be an issue that only feminists and anthropologists discussed. Over the past decade, however, the issue has been rising in the global agenda. Just this past month, a newKurdistani film on FGC made waves in the international media, a podcast about the issue was broadcast by the Guardian, and UNICEF held a global conference dedicated to ending the practice. Even with increased publicity around the issue, many global audiences do not yet understand the complexities behind FGC, and effective approaches to change the practice. Below, Dalberg Dakar’s Tania Beard presents an overview of FGC, with a focus on the situation in Senegal.

Kenya: Protect girls by enforcing FGM and child marriage laws

Equality Now has been monitoring multiple cases of Kenyan girls running away from their homes or avoiding going home from school during holidays to escape female genital mutilation (FGM) and child marriage, particularly during the August and December school holidays when mass mutilations are performed. The Pokot region, especially, has had a high number of reports of girls running away from home or refusing to return home from school. Despite the existence of Kenyan laws against FGM and child marriage, it is clear that they are not being implemented in the region to protect girls.

مصر: زفوا بناتكم للقبور

سخني يا أم القتيلة ماء الغسل. بردي حرقة قلبك بماء الورد وأكثري منه في ماء الغسل الدافئ. حلي ضفائرها، انثري شعرها علي كتفيها. اسكبي دموعك علي جثتها وعلي مريلة المدرسة وكتاب القراءة والمحفوظات وعلي العروسة القماش وضعيها ليلة في حضنك لتشمين رائحة طفلتك فيها.أصلب ظهرك في وسط الرجال فأنت رجل من ظهر رجل، ألم تفعل ما وجدت اباءك عليه.وأنتم يا من تنتظرون خروج الجثة لتقيموا الصلاة عليها قدموا واجب العزاء وقفوا وقفة السند في الملمات والنوائب، واردعوا النساء لمنعهن من اطلاق صراخ المجاملة أو الحزن واللوعة.

مصر: "يختنون الذكور صباحا والنساء في الليل"

رغم الحظر القانوني إلا أن ختان الإناث في مصر عاد لينتشر مجددا بشكل يثير الدهشة. كما يعمل الإسلاميون على إعادة إضفاء الشرعية على ختان الإناث،تعالي الأصوات التي تطالب بمنعه .

International: Draft Resolution on Female Genital Cutting Sent to United Nations

LONDON (TrustLaw) – African member states of the United Nations have submitted a draft resolution on ending female genital mutilation (FGM) to the U.N. General Assembly, in what campaigners have hailed as a landmark step to end a practice that has been inflicted on up to 140 million women and girls.