Nigeria – Senator and former Health Commissioner Iyabo Obasanjo Bello has spoken out against the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) during a national seminar on “Women’s Empowerment, Domestic Violence and Female Circumcision” in Abuja, Nigeria last week.

Obasanjo Bello referred to the practice as “outdated and unnecessary” and pointed out that the reasons for which FGM is performed, such as “preventing promiscuity, for genital cleanliness, to safeguard virginity as well as for curing illnesses” were “illogical”.

Not only is FGM based on false beliefs, Obasanjo Bello argued, it also contributes to the spread of HIV, being performed with non-sterile instruments on whole groups of girls. The Senator demanded that “Preventing FGM through education and enlightenment must become part of primary healthcare delivery” in Nigeria.

Source: All Africa

Former member of the Indonesian Parliament Nursyahbani Katjasungkana has started an initiative to enable a dialogue on sexual rights in her home country Indonesia, were sex and sexuality remains a taboo in the public domain.

Katjasungkana want to promote a movement on sexual rights in Indonesia, arguing that “Sexuality is not only about having sex. It controls human’s behaviours when they interact with each other. [...] The control over women’s bodies in a patriarchal society also stems from a fear of women’s sexuality.”

Nursyahbani Katjasungkana was genitally mutilated as a baby and had her own daughter mutilated at the age of six months. “The first time I saw clearly how female sexuality was oppressed was in the case of my own daughter”, she says and admits she deeply regrets agreeing to have her daughter mutilated.

“The Waris Dirie Foundation has repeatedly received reports by doctors from Indonesia, informing us that female genital mutilation is very widespread in Indonesia, the biggest Muslim country in the world.
Nursyahbani Katjasungkana makes a very important point in highlighting that FGM is part of a system that degrades and oppressed women out of an unwarranted fear of female sexuality. It is very important to address sexuality and the fears related to it openly in order to overcome harmful practices such as FGM and the suppression of women within a society!” - Waris Dirie

Source: The Jakarta Post

The US distributor National Geographic Cinema Ventures has acquired the rights to the movie “Desert Flower“. Lisa Truitt, president of National Geographic Cinema Ventures:

“We are very excited to release Desert Flower. We want to present compelling stories about the world in which we live, and the saga of this beautiful woman, Waris Dirie, and her amazing ability to triumph over adversity is an inspiration for audiences everywhere.”

The movie was first released in Germany, Austria and Switzerland in 2009 and has since been released in France, Spain, the Netherlands and Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Poland, the Czech Republic, Brazil, Australia, South Korea, and Ethiopia, among others.

National Geographic organises a screening of the movie, which is due to be released in the US in early 2011, on September 30th 2010 in Washington DC. More details here

The Cairo-based weekly newspaper Al-Ahram has published another interesting article on the case of 13-year-old Nermine El-Haddad, who died after undergoing FGM in a public hospital in Egypt earlier this month.

The article quotes Health Minister Mushira Khattab, who reported this case to the Prosecutor-General after her Ministry was informed about the death by another doctor from the hospital where the surgery was performed:
“We must break the wall of silence that surrounds this issue and step up our national campaign to prevent the practice being passed on to the next generation”, she said. “Our target is to make it clear that the practice will not be tolerated in Egypt.”

The procedure has been made illegal in Egypt in 2008, but doctors and nurses have been banned from performing FGM since 2007 after the death of two young girls who had been mutilated in public hospitals.
Despite the ban, FGM continues to be performed, especially by poorer families. According to national statistics, around 80 percent of girls born to poor families become victims of FGM, while only 30 percent of girls from wealthy, educated backgrounds are mutilated.

“This case makes it very clear that legislation alone is not enough to protect girls from FGM and it highlights the importance of education in eradicating this horrible practice!” - Waris Dirie

Read more.

Cairo: Following the death of a 13-year-old girl as a result of undergoing female genital mutilation the Public Prosecutor referred a physician to the criminal court in the Menufiya region.

The parents of the girl had secretly buried their daughter’s body to avoid prosecution after the girl had died in the aftermath of her mutilation. According to the Cairo-based newspaper “Al Shurouq”, the case was reported to the Ministry of Family and Population by another doctor. The Ministry then referred the case to the Public Prosecutor.

Female Genital Mutilation has been illegal in Egypt since 2008. The Egyptian “Child Law” imposes a jail sentence on those who perform the procedure, as well as on the victim’s parents, of up to two years. In case of death of the victim, the person who has performed the procedure may additionally be charged with manslaughter.

According to a 2005 government report, 90 % of the women in Egypt have been genitally mutilated as children, and authorities find it very difficult to eradicate the practice.

Source

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has recently sparked a heated discussion with his statements on young criminals with a non-French background in France, threatening to withdraw their French citizenship (or the right to aquire it when turning 18) in the event of violence against state officials. The French minister of interior Brice Hortefeux now brought FGM into this discussion as well, demanding that citizenship also be withdrawn in the case of „symbolic“ crimes that demonstrate an unwillingness to integrate, such as polygamy and female genital mutilation.

„Threatening to withdraw someone’s citizenship is certainly not the answer to this problem, since by definition, all citizens are equal before the law and treating those with an immigrant background differently is simply racism”, says Waris Dirie. “While it is very important to enact strict laws against FGM, and even more important to also execute these laws, FGM should not be used as an instrument to stigmatize people with an immigrant background. I support using powerful means to combat FGM, but this is the wrong approach.“

Read more

In the course of its 15th summit, held in Kampala / Uganda from July 19th to July 27th, the African Union has reinforced its commitments to implementing the Maputo Protocol and Plan of Action, which deals with issues related to sexual and reproductive health and women’s rights related to sexual and maternal health. In accordance to the theme of the summit, “Maternal, infant and child health development in Africa”, the African Union launched a Campaign on Accelerated Reduction of Maternal Mortality in Africa, short CARMMA.

Despite the efforts to meet the Millennium Development Goals 4, 5 and 6, which deal with maternal and infant health, maternal mortality remains a big problem in Africa, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. The vast majority of the 500,000 women worldwide who die during childbirth or due to complications after giving birth continue to be African women (you can find more information here)

Female genital mutilation is one of the major reasons for complications during childbirth. The risk of dying during childbirth increases greatly for both the mother and the infant if the mother has been genitally mutilated. Yet, statements on maternal mortality often fail to acknowledge the problem of FGM.

“It is very important that this aspect is not ignored when discussing the problem of maternal mortality in Africa. Genitally mutilated women face a much higher risk of serious complications and death during childbirth than women who have not been mutilated. Strict laws against and education are crucial in the fight against maternal mortality in Africa and have to be at the core of every programme to foster maternal and reproductive health.” – Waris Dirie

Source: African Union

Every year during holidays a lot of girls who live in the United States, in Canada and in Europe are brought overseas and mutilated. The public authorities in all these countries know about it. In the United States this is possible although Female Genital Mutilation is banned in the United States since 1996! This law (Criminalization of Female Genital Mutilation Act), which was introduced by US-Senator Harry Reid, provides for prison sentences of up to five years for anyone who mutilates a child. But there is a loophole in the law: FGM is banned within the United States but the law does not adress the possibilty that the girls are brought overseas to get mutilated.

But this could change soon because the US-Congressman Joseph Crowley (New York) and US-Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack (California) have introduced an Act (The Girls Protection Act of 2010) that will address exactely this loophole so that Mutilation is not allowed to be done overseas. Crowley and Bono Mack want to follow the european example because FGM that is done overseas is already banned in most european countries. When this law is passed another important measure in the fight against the horrible crime FGM has been taken! Nevertheless, it is very important, that legislation is enforced. And this is only possible if the countries follow the example of France where medical examinations of young girls are obligatory to controll whether they were mutilated or not. Apart from that nothing will change.

Since 1997 another important US-legislation is existing: US representatives to the World Bank and similar financial institutions are required to oppose loans to countries where FGM is widespread and in which there are no anti-FGM educational programs. There has not been a realization of this law although it is effectiv since 1997.

Waris Dirie:

„I expect that laws which are passed are also enforced. So that we can make a big step forward in the fight against this horrible crime.“

Waris Dirie was appointed as Ambassador for Peace and Security in Africa by the Chairman of the African Union, Jean Ping, within the context of the Peace & Security Summit of the African Union. 2010 is the year of peace and security in Africa, the 21st of September 2010 is the African Peaceday.

Waris with the Chairman of the African Union, Jean Ping

Waris Dirie: „I am very honored that my African brothers and sisters award me with this high position. But this position means a lot of responsibility. I am from an african country, Somalia, which is affected by a horrible civil war since 20 years and it cannot find peace. With my new position I want to help to bring peace to Somalia. I am already working on a project for this and I will present the project in September.

But there is another, much worse war in Africa. A war against women. The name of this war is „Female Genital Mutilation“ and it affects millions of girls every year. More than 150 million of women are traumatized by this absurd war and suffer their whole lifes from the consequences. Therefore, I demand that the African governments and all the people in Africa end this war. I want and I will contribute.

I felt the spirit of a new era in Africa at our first meeting in Addis Ababa on the 16th of July. Now we need to use this spirit that the wonderful african continent is able to develop beauty and strength.“

Waris Dirie is on the cover of the current issue of “New African Woman”. You can read the interview with her here.

“I am so happy about being on the cover of New African Magazine and being able to tell my story and talk about my fight against FGM to such a big audience of African women. This means more to me than any big fashion magazine ever could because it gets my message to those who need to hear it the most and for whom I fight!” – Waris Dirie