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Turning Their Backs on Tradition Female Genital Cutting Is on the Verge of Ending in Senegal

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Turning Their Backs on Tradition Female Genital Cutting Is on the Verge of Ending in Senegal Published 2/6/2015 Turning their backs on tradition Female genital cutting is on the verge of ending in Senegal. By providing information about human rights and health consequences, Tostan has helped women take control of their bodies. Republic of Senegal Capital: Dakar Photo: Lotta Härdelin Lotta Photo: Population: 13.9 million The women’s colorful tunics and of girls is removed, often before Main languages: Wolof, French headscarves stand out in stark con- the age of two — a practice they GDP per capita: Over 14 000 SEK trast to the barren and dusty desert thought was necessary — a tradi- landscape that lie on the outskirts tion which was passed down from Life expectancy: 63 years of the village of Younoufere in mother to daughter for genera- Export Products: Canned fish, northern Senegal. At midday it is tions. peanuts, oil products unbearably hot, but the women’s “We will step forward one by Source: NE meeting begins with singing and one and defend this decision,” says dancing. They then roll out their Diallo. Three million girls mats in the shade of two big neem One hundred and twenty other are cut every year. trees. Some have carried their plas- communities in the conservative tic chairs from their own huts. Muslim area, known as the Fouta, Female Genital Cutting (FGC) oc- Mariata Diallo begins to speak. have also decided to join in this curs in at least 30 countries, most She clearly states something almost collective declaration along with of them in Africa. The procedure, too good to be true. The women Younoufere. in which the clitoris and labia are have collectively decided that it The women enthusiastically plan removed, is associated with signif- is best to put an end to the tradi- for a celebration with thousands icant health risks. According to the tional practice of female genital of participants who will publicly World Health Organization (WHO) cutting. In a solemn ceremony, they declare their decision to end FGC. three million girls are cut each will turn their backs on a practice Only a few years ago, a similar year and there are 140 million during which the clitoris and labia event would have been totally women who have undergone FGC worldwide. unthinkable. Härdelin Lotta Photo: “The tradition was The result of Tostan’s work is perpetuated without not yet visible in the statistics of us ever question- genitally cut women, according to Molly Melching. The girls are cut ing it. We assumed young, the statistics are based on that these practices adult women. But more than 7,000 were required by our villages have now said no to FGC. religion. But when we asked the Imam Tostan’s three-year education about this, we were program (the Community Em- powerment Program) is founded told that there is on human rights and democra- nothing in the Koran cy. Participants also learn about that says girls must health and hygiene and are taught undergo this opera- to read, write and do math. tion,” says Haby Fary Sow. The NGO was founded by Molly The women Melching 24 years ago. Today Tostan works in six countries in learned that the West Africa: Senegal, Mauritania, practice can have Gambia, Guinea, Guinea Bissau significant health and Mali. The organization has consequences. more than 1,000 employees. “The turning point Molly Melching, Director and CEO , Tostan In total, more than 7,000 villages came when we learned about in eight countries have publicly tion sweeping through thousands declared they will end FGC and human rights. That’s when we of villages in Senegal; however, she three million people have been decided that FGC is a violation of is quick to say that it is the villagers affected by these declarations. In children’s rights. We also realized themselves who are the source of Senegal, the Government expects that some of the complications we that FGC will end in several years. the movement. had experienced during childbirth “I was just as surprised as ev- were most likely due to FGC.” For many years, Tostan has been eryone else when the first village supported by the Swedish branch When the women finally started made the decision to abandon FGC. of Tostan: Tostan Sweden (www. talking to each other, it was as if a There were discussions on human tostan.se) of which Anne Char- button was pushed. Everyone had rights that led to the decision. I be- lotte Ringquist is chairman. Other an experience to relate. supporters in Sweden include Sida, lieve that when people have access “I put a lot of time and thought UNICEF Sweden, Radiohjälpen, to good information, they make into this decision. It’s terrible that the Postcode Lottery, the Malin wise decisions in order to improve so many women have suffered, but and Lennart Philipson Foundation, their lives,” says Melching when Berth von Kanzows Foundation there’s no point feeling guilty about we meet her in the village of Keur and the Tam Group. it because we were doing what we Simbara, an hour’s drive from the thought was right. Instead, I now capital city of Dakar. Molly Melching and Tostan have feel proud to be involved in this received several international But it’s Melching’s initially small- decision to speak out,” says Lourel awards, including the Conrad N. scale development project that Sow. Hilton Humanitarian Prize (the explains why village after village in world’s largest humanitarian She keeps her daughter Soua- Senegal and several neighboring prize), the Anna Lindh Human dou, nine months old, in her arms. countries in West Africa have cho- Rights Award and the Skoll Award “My daughter, and her future sen to abandon this most ancient for Social Entrepreneurship. The children and grandchildren, will be World Health Organization (WHO), custom of FGC. Tostan’s three-year able to avoid the health problems has named Tostan’s program one education program has led to a caused by this tradition,” she con- of the best approaches for sustain- mass movement at the grassroots tinues. able development. level. The new knowledge, based The American development on human rights, has been a worker, Molly Melching, could take beacon of light which has helped credit for the revolutionary innova- people be able to choose new done something wrong or misun- or ‘stop that.’ A current example alternatives. derstood some important signal. I is the countries affected by Ebola The movement has spread so never put the blame on the people epidemic. Just to drum out the quickly that the Government of in the villages,” says Melching. message ‘stop shaking hands with Senegal expects that FGC could end After a few years of living in Sen- everyone’ without explaining how in the country within a few years. egal Melching had learned to speak germs are spread does not work,” Melching has been active in Wolof, the national language, flu- she says. Senegal for 40 years. She arrived ently. She worked teaching children Melching is a popular guest in there as a 24-year-old exchange to read in that language. Because the village of Keur Simbara where student from the University of all children’s books were written at the education program was con- Illinois in 1974. Melching expected that time in French, she decided to ducted in the late 1990s. Several to do African studies for six months write African children’s stories in times we stop for villagers who and then return to the US, but she Wolof. want to tell me something or just remained in Senegal. The model Her first contact with develop- greet her. For three years, Melch- of education which she developed ment work came when she was ing lived in a simple hut in a village over such a long period of time is hired as an interpreter for several some distance away. In Saam Njaay today being hailed by the likes of international organizations. Molly she lacked electricity and running Hillary Clinton, former President became disheartened when she water as she kicked off a project Jimmy Carter and Melinda Gates saw how donors with good inten- to empower women in rural areas. and has received several presti- tions often failed to achieve the She realized how important perse- gious awards. results they had hoped for. verance was for doing sustainable “I have made many mistakes “I learned that it was important development work. over the years. When something to start from people’s everyday “Anyone who wants to achieve does not work I get frustrated, but lives and speak their language. You results in development must be I realize it’s always me who has can not just go in and say ‘do this’ patient, there is no other way. If Photo: Lotta Härdelin Lotta Photo: The women of Younoufere prepare for a declaration ceremony where they will abandon the tradition of female genital cutting once and for all. Photo: Lotta Härdelin Lotta Photo: Dancing and singing are a vital part of everyday life in Younoufere. you don’t have the patience, it is priorities. Often, health-related It was during such a discussion perhaps better to refrain from the issues or opportunities to increase in a makeshift classroom in the beginning,” says Melching. their income are first on their list. village of Malicounda Bambara Saam Njaay laid the founda- We don’t tell participants what to that the subject of FGC first came tion for Tostan as Melching tested think or what they need, rather we up in 1996. To the amazement of materials on a small scale. Dances, give them information and skills the village facilitator, the women theater and traditional stories were they need, always in local languag- concluded that it was not right for an important part of village life es,” she says.
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