‘From Malabo to New York'
6th of February being the International Day on Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), a conference hosted by the Inter-African Committee on Traditional Practices affecting the Health of Women and Children (IAC) was held in the Ariana Museum in Geneva, Switzerland.
Girls pay the heavy price for FGM, from physical pain to psychological suffering and the future implications on their health and life, this issue is therefore of particular concern to the World YWCA, the Association's General Secretary Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda and the Global Programme Manager Violence Against Women and Focal Point Caribbean/N.A., Marie–Claude Julsaint, were invited to the conference to share the work of YWCAs on FGM.
Marie–Claude Julsaint moderated the session where several speakers including H.E. Steffen Kongstand, Ambassador of Norway, H.E. Prosper Vokouma, Ambassador of Burkina Faso IAC, the World YWCA, World Health Organisation (WHO), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and the Office of Human Rights in the State of Geneva, presented the background of the FGM resolution, the challenges and the cost implications.
Mariam Lamizana, President of IAC, started the conference with a brief background and historical overview on the FGM resolution. Then, Stefan Kongstad, Norway’s Ambassador stated that FGM is a ‘deep discrimination against women’ and that ending FGM is present on the political agenda in Norway. Clarisse Ouba, counselor of Burkina Faso, also expressed concerns regarding this serious practice.
Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda talked about the four main challenges facing the FGM resolution: accessing communities; moving from awareness to practical actions to changing behaviours; infrastructure and communication; and poverty. She also presented some practical steps to move faster on this issue: lead to more success stories, sustain advocacy, use other resources, and to work more constructively on these issue in Geneva. She ended by saying: ”as long as one woman is mutilated we have to say NO”.
One of the highlights of the conference was the presentation by Fabienne Bugnon, representing the Office of Human Rights in the State of Geneva. She explained the various projects carried out by the State of Geneva, to end this practice, notably the 2011 law stipulating the imprisonment for 10 years of anyone living in Geneva practicing FGM in or outside the country..
At the end of the conference, Professor Tobe Levin took a moment to explain the art exhibition being held in the museum, entitled: ‘FGM through the eyes of African Artists’, which includes powerful art work depicting the outrage of African men and women towards FGM.
FGM could be considered an atrocious crime and it needs to be ended in our world. It is a priority for the World YWCA Movement. As Marie-Claude Julsaint put it: ”This fits very well with our Strategic Framework objectives of promoting and protecting women’s sexual and reproductive rights (SRHR), promoting freedom from violence for women and girls, and ensuring that women and young women access rights based programmes and services that comprehensively address SRHR and violence against women. One of our key actions for the quadrennium is to engage with other organisations and networks to challenge harmful religious and cultural practices and norms”.
The YWCAs of Ethiopia, Kenya, Sierra Leone and Liberia carry out a number awareness campaigns and have opened shelters for women affected by this sort of violence.
