According to the new United Nations report , almost 2,000 communities across Africa have abandoned female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) last year, therefore prompting calls for a renewed global push to end this harmful practice once and for all.
There are many reasons why FGM was introduced in these communities and eventually became a popular practice against women and children. In some culture it was considered a proper way of raising a girl and a way to prepare these girls for marriage and becoming an adult. However, there are no positive health reasons to have FGM performed on a woman. In most communities FGM is thought to reduce a woman’s libido so they will be able to resist sexual urges (WHO.int). Parts of the woman are also removed because it is thought to make the woman “clean” and “beautiful”.
In one of allAfrica feature it states that, the total number of communities renouncing FGM/C has now reached 8,000 over the last few years as confirmed by the UN report.
"These encouraging findings show that social norms and cultural practices are changing, and communities are uniting to protect the rights of girls and women," said UNFPA Executive Director Babatunde Osotimehin, on the International Day of Zero Tolerance to FGM/C, which is observed on 6 February.
To mark the Day, Dr. Osotimehin and UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake issued a joint statement renewing their commitment to put an end to the practice.
"We call on the global community to join us in this critical effort. Together, we can abolish FGM/C in one generation and help millions of girls and women to live healthier, fuller lives," they stated.
Each year, around three million girls and women - or some 8,000 girls each day - face the risk of mutilation or cutting. An estimated 130 million to 140 million girls and women have undergone the practice, mostly in Africa and some countries in Asia and the Middle East.
The new report is prepared by the UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Programme for the Acceleration of the Abandonment of FGM/C, which was set up in 2008 and tries to spur change through a culturally sensitive, human rights-based approach that promotes collective abandonment of the practice.
It includes engaging all community groups, such as traditional and religious leaders, women, men and young girls themselves, in discussing the harmful effects of the practice, while highlighting that it is not a religious requirement. The programme also supports laws and policies against the practice.
The initiative is being carried out in 15 African countries: Burkina Faso, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Mali, Mauritania, Senegal, Somalia, Sudan and Uganda.
The report shows that throughout Africa, more than 18,000 community education sessions were held, almost 3,000 religious leaders publicly declared that the rite should end, and more than 3,000 media features have covered the subject - all of which led to almost 2,000 communities declared their abandonment of the practice during 2011.
Opinion
To think that a woman could perform FGM on their child is very hard to understand. But culturually that was a normal practice. These women performed this act because they thought they were helping their children prepare for adulthood. But as more women are being educated about how this practice is not beneficial, these acts are slowly being stopped. I think it really shows that mothers will do anything for their children to have the best life. Whether positive or negative, and it is up to society to make sure healthy steps are being taken, and to stop the negative, unhealthy acts from continuing.
Source: allafrica.com
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