Eliminating FGM/C and Changing Social Norms
From SOUL BEAT AFRICA - where communication and media are central to AFRICA's social and economic development
In this issue of The Soul Beat:
* The way forward - working with communities and religious leaders to end FGM...
* Projects using film and community dialogue to change social norms...
* Lessons learned and impacts of projects working to eliminate FGM/C...
* A documentary on a grassroots movement to end FGM/C...
This edition of The Soul Beat looks at what is being done to eliminate female genital mutilation, also known as female genital cutting and female circumcision (FGM/C), in Africa. The newsletter includes strategic thinking documents, programme experiences, and evaluations summarised on the Soul Beat Africa website that highlight how organisations are encouraging communities to abandon FGM/C and changing deeply rooted social norms and traditions.
If you would like your organisation's communication work or research and resource documents to be featured on the Soul Beat Africa website and in The Soul Beat newsletters, please contact soulbeat@comminit.com
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1. Eliminating Female Genital Mutilation: An Interagency Statement
This report, published by the World Health Organisation in 2008, is a call to all States, international and national organisations, civil society, and communities to uphold the rights of girls and women. It also calls on those bodies and communities to develop, strengthen, and support specific and concrete actions directed towards ending FGM. According to the statement, while there are positive signs of change, prevalence in many areas remains high and there is an urgent need to intensify, expand, and improve efforts if FGM is to be eliminated within one generation. To reach this goal, increased resources, coordination, and cooperation are needed to bring about positive social change.
2. Global Consultation on Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting
This technical report, published by United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in 2009, is based on deliberations of a global consultation held in July 2007 and contains research findings concerning global trends and the prevalence of FGM/C and its linkages with maternal and newborn health. It describes changing patterns and practices, including medicalisation, and analyses the threat FGM/C poses to the achievement of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), as well as its economic and health costs. The report identifies important lessons and discusses case studies in detail as well as the application of theories as a basis for accelerating the abandonment process. It is designed to be a resource for those involved in the FGM/C abandonment movement, and for sharing the latest techniques and challenges in advocating for the acceleration of abandoning FGM/C.
3. Social Dynamics of Abandonment of Harmful Practices: A New Look at the Theory - Special Series on Social Norms and Harmful Practices
This working paper, published by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Innocenti Research Centre in 2009, discusses the application of the social convention theory to the practice of FGM/C. The theory compares footbinding in China to FGM/C in Africa, explains each practice in terms of simple game theory, and recommends that the methods used to end footbinding be adapted to end FGM/C.
4. Tradition and Rights: Female Genital Cutting in West Africa
This publication shares insights gained from a 2005 Plan International study into the social and cultural determinants of FGC in Mali, Niger, Guinea, and Sierra Leone. Experiences of working in communities to encourage FGC abandonment has taught Plan that it is important to respect the communities with whom they work and to listen to their views and opinions. According to Plan, changes of societal norms and behaviours have to come from within communities, and effecting such changes requires a constructive dialogue, which is only possible if the motives and justifications for FGC in the different social and cultural contexts are understood.
5. A Religious Oriented Approach to Addressing Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting among the Somali Community of Wajir, Kenya
This report, from 2009, outlines the experience of a Population Council FRONTIERS programme to develop a religious-oriented approach to address the practice of FGM/C among the Somali ethnic community living in Wajir district of North Eastern Province in Kenya. According to the report, community members had indicated that they were ready to listen to religious scholars and would be prepared to stop any practices that were not in line with Islamic teachings. To be able to do so, it was important that religious scholars within this community clarify among themselves the correct position of Islam on FGM/C. This was undertaken through facilitating a critical evaluation of the evidence cited by proponents of FGM/C, to demonstrate that there is actually no Islamic basis to the practice. Discussions around this have concluded that proponents mostly rely on ahadith that are either weak or unrelated to FGM/C. Deeper analyses of Islamic teachings can help counter the practice by showing that it is actually in violation of Islamic Shariah.
6. The Role of Policymakers in Ending Female Genital Mutilation: An African Perspective
This paper, published by the Population Reference Bureau in 2010, shares perspectives from Amina Salum Ali, Permanent Representative of the African Union to the United States, based on her visit to Tanzania in 2009, where she met with women policymakers to discuss the current status of FGM practices in the country. Ali suggests that while important lessons have been learned, much remains to be done, and she challenges all policymakers to join in ending the practice. The paper proposes that the most effective way to end FGM is to complement legal policies with education, information, and advocacy that will raise public awareness and bring about changes in attitudes within communities.
7. Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting: A Statistical Exploration
This report, published by UNICEF in 2005, analyses available statistics on FGM/C, with the aim of improving understanding of related issues in the wider context of gender equality and social change. The study centres on women aged 15 - 49 and their daughters, presenting estimates and examining differentials in prevalence, and highlighting patterns within the data that can strategically inform programmatic efforts.
8. Managing and Preventing Female Genital Cutting (FGM/C) Among the Somali Community in Kenya
This report, from 2008, details results of a FRONTIERS project, conducted in collaboration with the Ministry of Health among the Somali community in Kenya. This project sought both to strengthen existing antenatal and delivery services in health facilities used by Somali women and to support the development, implementation, and evaluation of a community-based intervention to encourage the Somali community to abandon FGM/C, a traditional practice that is illegal in Kenya.
9. Religious Leaders from the Afar Region of Ethiopia Issue Declaration to End the Practice of Female Circumcision
In this announcement from Nazareth, Ethiopia, thirty religious leaders from the Afar region, representatives from the Office of the Supreme Sharia Courts, Islamic Affairs Bureau, and the Women’s Affairs Bureau of Ethiopia issued a declaration to end the practice of FGM/C. The declaration was issued at the end of a Population Media Center (PMC) workshop held from July 30 to August 1 in 2007, to discuss the issue of female circumcision and what religious leaders can do to help eradicate the practice. The PMC workshop was the first part of a "whole society" strategy to eradicate the practice of FGM in Ethiopia, and the Afar region in particular.
10. Walking the Path of Unity - A Film for Social Change - Senegal
In early 2008, in the heart of the Casamance in southern Senegal, the community members of the village of Diégoune collectively decided to abandon the tradition of FGC. As part of their effort to share their experiences with other Diola communities, the villagers of Diégoune, with the help of the Belguim-based organisation, Respect, and Tostan Senegal, created an awareness-raising film called Walking the Path of Unity featuring the voices of their own community members. Since May 2009, with support from Cinéma Numérique Ambulant, the film has been shown in Diola villages throughout the Casamance; the film showings have been accompanied by facilitated discussions.
11. Programme on Sexual Health and Human Rights (PROSAD) - Burkina Faso
Officially launched in January 2004 and scheduled to conclude in 2015, PROSAD works in the East and Southwestern regions of Burkina Faso to raise awareness about the human rights of women, youth, and children. One of the components of the programme focuses on women and girls and their need for information about their basic rights and the mechanisms they can turn to when their rights are violated, with special attention to stopping FGM and to enrolling and retaining girls in school. Amongst other activities, the project offers primary and secondary school courses on FGM that help young people realise that FGM is not a good practice and should be stopped.
12. Women Wake Up (WOWAP) - Tanzania
Established in 1996, Women Wake Up (WOWAP) is a voluntary NGO which is fighting against FGM in Tanzania. The organisation trains community-based leaders or change agents who encourage dialogue within communities and mobilise support from religious leaders, teachers, and ward and village government officials to fight for the elimination of FGM. The project was initiated in 3 villages in the Kondoa district of Tanzania - Mombose, Makorongo, and Donsee - reaching approximately 8,000 people.
13. Zero Tolerance for FGM - Mali
Launched in 2006, the Zero Tolerance for FGM project uses television and radio spots, as well as interpersonal communication to promote the abandonment of FGM/C in Mali. According to the organiser, Population Services International/Mali, the campaign aims to confront the fact that over 85% of Malian women are excised, and no law exists prohibiting the practice.
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For more information on FGM/C on the Soul Beat Africa website see this previous issue of The Soul Beat e-newsletter:
The Soul Beat 39 - Communication and Female Genital Cutting
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14. Dialogue to Promote Change from Within: A Grandmother-Inclusive and Intergenerational Approach to Promote Girls' Health and Well-being and to Eliminate FGM
This report, published in 2010, offers an overview of project results and lessons learned from the Développement Holistique des Filles (DHF) project, which was designed to eliminate FGM in Senegal and was implemented by World Vision in Velingara, Senegal with technical assistance from the Grandmother Project (GMP). The report offers a synthesis of findings from a Mid-term Project Review and a rapid assessment, both conducted in October 2009.
15. Evaluation of the Long-term Impact of the TOSTAN Programme on the Abandonment of FGM/C and Early Marriage: Results from a Qualitative Study in Senegal
In 1998-1999, the Tostan village empowerment programme was implemented in the Thiès/Fatick and Kolda regions of Senegal. This report, conducted several years after the programme ended, is the qualitative component of an evaluation conducted for UNICEF to assess the project's impact towards its goals of improving health and hygiene, addressing gender inequality, and encouraging the abandonment of FGM/C.
16. Abandoning Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting: An In-depth Look at Promising Practices
This document, published by the Population Reference Bureau (PRB) in 2006, presents findings from surveys, questionnaires, and in-country interviews about three interventions promoting the abandonment of FGM/C. The goal of this publication was to provide information on these abandonment interventions based on four criteria set forth by the project's collaborating partners: positive tangible impact; potential for replication; fostering of effective partnerships; and demonstrated sustainability. The researchers found that each of the projects had a positive impact in encouraging community awareness and abandonment of FGC.
17. Africa Rising: The Grassroots Movement to End Female Genital Mutilation [DVD]
Produced by Equality Now and directed by Paula Heredia, Africa Rising is a documentary about the grassroots movement to end FGM across Africa. Travelling through remote villages in Burkina Faso, Kenya, Mali, Somalia, and Tanzania, Africa Rising was filmed to "celebrate the resilience and determination of the human spirit to change destiny against all odds." The film highlights the lives of girls like Beatrice and Edna Kandie, sisters who fled their home after learning their father was planning to cut them, and succeeded in getting a court order of protection against him.
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