Transcript Slide 1

WOMEN’S UN REPORT NETWORK
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WOMEN'S UN REPORT NETWORK - WUNRN
FGM - FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION – WOMEN & GIRLS
UN COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN
CSW 56 - New York - 2012
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SUDAN VICTIM CALLS FOR A FUTURE WITHOUT FGM
By Halima Mohamed Abdel Rahman
As a young girl, Sudanese Voices of Our Future correspondent Halima Mohamed Abdel
Rahman was circumcised at the hands of the elder women of her community. Now an
advocate for the practice's abolition, she shares her own story and calls out for reform.
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UN CEDAW COMMITTEE GENERAL RECOMMENDATION NO. 14
FEMALE CIRCUMCISION - FGM - FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION
UN CEDAW COMMITTEE
General Recommendation No. 14 (ninth session, 1990)
Female Circumcision
The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women,
Concerned about the continuation of the practice of female circumcision and other traditional practices harmful
to the health of women,
Noting with satisfaction that Governments, where such practices exist, national women's organizations, nongovernmental organizations, and bodies of the United Nations system, such as the World Health Organization
and the United Nations Children's Fund, as well as the Commission on Human Rights and its Sub- Commission
on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, remain seized of the issue having particularly
recognized that such traditional practices as female circumcision have serious health and other consequences for
women and children,
Taking note with interest the study of the Special Rapporteur on Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of
Women and Children,4 and of the study of the Special Working Group on Traditional Practices, 5
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FGM - UGANDA - OVER 200 GIRLS TO BE CIRCUMCISED
A circumciser shows the razorblades, the instruments of the FGM ritual
By Frederick Womakuyu - 11-15-2010
Elders in Bukwo and Kapchorwa districts of Uganda are preparing to circumcise over 200 girls next
month despite a new law banning the practice. The Uganda law calls for life imprisonment
punishment for a person who commits aggravated FGM. But elders swear that the whole tribe
would rather go to prison than abolish a custom they inherited from their ancestors.
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INDONESIA - FGM A CUTTING TRADITION
Photo - Stephanie Sinclair, Story - Sara Corbett
Female circumcisers and their attendants waiting in an elementary-school classroom, where they
do their work. When a girl is taken — usually by her mother — to a free circumcision event held
each spring in Bandung, Indonesia, she is handed over to a small group of women who, swiftly
and yet with apparent affection, cut off a small piece of her genitals.
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European Parliament Resolution of 24 March 2009 on
Combating Female Genital Mutilation in the EU
(2008/2071(INI))
The European Parliament,
– having regard to Articles 2, 3, and 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted in 1948,
– having regard to Articles 2, 3, and 26 of the 1966 UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,
– having regard in particular to Article 5(a) of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), adopted in 1979,
– having regard to Article 2(1), Article19(1), Article 24(3), and Articles 34 and 39 of the Convention on the
Rights of the Child, adopted on 20 November 1989 by the UN General Assembly,
– having regard to the 1989 UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment
or Punishment,
– having regard to the 1990 African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child,
– having regard to Article 1, Article 2(f), Article 5, Article 10(c), and Articles 12 and 16 of General
Recommendation No 19 of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, adopted in
1992,
– having regard to the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, adopted by the June 1993 World
Conference on Human Rights,
– having regard to the December 1993 UN General Assembly Declaration on the Elimination of Violence
against Women, the first international human rights instrument relating solely to violence against women,
– having regard to the Declaration and the Programme of Action of the UN International Conference on
Population and Development, adopted in Cairo on 13 September 1994,
– having regard to the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, adopted by the World Conference on
Women on 15 September 1995,
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FORCED FGM - GIRL IN AGONY OF PAIN - SUSTAINED SUFFERING
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HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE 8 YEARS OLD AND TOLD YOU WERE
GOING TO A BIRTHDAY PARTY. BUT, WHEN YOU GET THERE,
THE DOOR CLOSES, AND THERE IS NO PARTY. THE
NIGHTMARE OF FGM BEGINS, SO MUCH PAIN,
SO MANY TEARS.
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UNFPA - REPORT ON GLOBAL CONSULTATION ON FGM
This UNFPA FGM Report addresses the needs for closing gaps in law enforcement, building
capacity, mobilizing resources, and building global partnerships.
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TOOLS FOR FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION
Typical tools for carrying out female genital
mutilation
Non-sterile mutilation- Not performed in a
hospital - No anesthetics
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EGYPT BANS FEMALE CIRCUMCISION AFTER GIRL'S FGM DEATH
BBC 6/28/07 - Egypt has announced that it is imposing a complete
ban on female circumcision, also known as genital mutilation.
The announcement follows a public outcry after a young girl died
during the operation.
A ban was introduced nearly 10 years ago but the practice continued
to be allowed in exceptional circumstances.
A health ministry spokesman said no member of the medical
profession would be allowed to perform the operation in public or
private establishments.
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HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE A RADIANT BRIDE? BUT, YOU
WERE CIRCUMCISED AS A LITTLE GIRL..
YOU MUST BE CUT OPEN FOR THE WEDDING NIGHT.
WILL THE FGM PAIN NEVER END?
THE WEDDING NIGHT AND SO MANY NIGHTS
AFTER, CAN BE FULL OF PAIN, EVEN CREATING INFECTIONS.
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TEARS OF A 9-MONTH OLD GIRL FOLLOWING HER CIRCUMCISION IN ASIA
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FEMALE CIRCUMCISION COULD CAUSE INFERTILITY - SWEDISH STUDY IN SUDAN
Female circumcision, which is practiced in more than 30 countries and affects 2 million
girls each year, could cause infertility.
Swedish researchers, who examined nearly 300 women in Sudan where the practice is
widespread, said on Friday women who had undergone circumcision, or female genital
mutilation (FGM), were five to six times more likely to be infertile.
"All sorts of female circumcision, not only the severe forms, probably cause an increased
risk of infertility. This is a very important argument to be used in areas where this is
practiced," Dr Lars Almroth, a pediatrician and researcher at the Karolinska Institute in
Stockholm, said in an interview. An estimated 135 million women and girls have been
circumcised, according to the human rights group Amnesty International.
The research, which is published in The Lancet medical journal, is the first clinical study to
show it has the opposite effect. "We found that the more extensive form of genital
mutilation, the higher the risk of primary infertility. The risk is very high -- 5 to 6 times
higher -- than in the other group," Dr. Almroth said referring to women who had not been
not circumcised. By Author - Patricia Reaney
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HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE READY TO DELIVER YOUR FIRST
BABY. THE FGM HAS LEFT YOU TOO CLOSED.
YOU LIVE FAR FROM A HOSPITAL. THE BABY TRIES TO COME.
FINALLY, YOUR BABY GIRL DIES. YOUR INSIDES ARE TORN.
YOU NOW HAVE OBSTETRIC FISTULA. YOUR HUSBAND
DOESN’T WANT TO BE NEAR YOU ANY MORE.
YOU MOURN FOR YOUR LOST BABY.
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AFRICAN YOUNG GIRL IS HELD DOWN IN FORCED FGM
Practiced in Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Oman, Yemen, Sudan, Somalia, Djibouti, Mauritania, Saudi
Arabia, Iraq, Iran, and other countries, FGM is carried out with knives, scissors, scalpels,
pieces of glass or razor blades. There is rarely anesthesia, or instrument sterilization.
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FILMS CAN SHOW THE GRAPHIC DOCUMENTARY OF THE
TORTURE, PAIN, AGONY OF GIRLS DURING & AFTER FGM
http://irinnews.org/film/?id=4129
Razor's Edge - FGM Video
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ETHIOPIA - INITIATION DANCE OF GIRLS BEFORE FGM
These girls dance in the initiation ceremony that leads to their circumcision.
If they refuse FGM, they will be discriminated against or ostracized from their community.
Credit: IRIN
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International Day of Zero Tolerance for
Female Genital Mutilation - February 6
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MANY BRITISH IMMIGRANT GIRLS UNDERGO GENITAL MUTILATION
ARRANGED BY FAMILIES DURING SCHOOL HOLIDAYS - DESPITE LAWS
The Guardian - 25 July 2010
Female circumcision will be inflicted on up to 2,000 British
schoolgirls during the summer holidays – leaving brutal physical and
emotional scars. Yet there have been no prosecutions against the
practice.
Some 500 to 2,000 British schoolgirls will be genitally mutilated over
the summer holidays. Some will be taken abroad, others will be "cut"
or circumcised and sewn closed here in the UK by women already
living here or who are flown in and brought to "cutting parties" for a
few girls at a time in a cost-saving exercise.
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FGM PRACTITIONERS SWAY ELECTIONS IN SIERRA LEONE
By Emily Bowers - WeNews correspondent
Fighting female genital mutilation is hard in Sierra
Leone, where about 90 percent of women have been cut.
The current election season has shown off the political
clout of traditional practitioners.
What makes it particularly difficult to combat FGM in
Sierra Leone is the political and social power of many of
the women who perform it.
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OPERATION GIVES FGM VICTIMS HOPE ON RECONSTRUCTION
CNN - Young girls like this one in Niger are often forced into circumcision by their families.
The health dangers involved in this procedure, also known as female genital mutilation
(FGM), are increasingly well-known and have lead to international efforts to ban the practice.
But a new treatment pioneered by a French doctor, Pierre Foldes, offers hope for victims of
this practice. Dr. Foldes began working with victims of female circumcision almost 30 years
ago while volunteering in Burkina Faso.
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FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION/CUTTING - DATA & TRENDS
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FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION-RITE OF TORTURE FOR GIRLS
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF - NY Times - May 11, 2011
HARGEISA, Somaliland - People usually torture those whom they fear or despise. But one of the most
common forms of torture in the modern world, incomparably more widespread than waterboarding or electric
shocks, is inflicted by mothers on daughters they love.
It’s female genital mutilation — sometimes called female circumcision — and it is prevalent across a broad
swath of Africa and chunks of Asia as well. Mothers take their daughters at about age 10 to cutters like
Maryan Hirsi Ibrahim, a middle-aged Somali woman who says she wields her razor blade on up to a dozen
girls a day.
“This tradition is for keeping our girls chaste, for lowering the sex drive of our daughters,” Ms. Ibrahim told
me. “This is our culture.”
Ms. Ibrahim prefers the most extreme form of genital mutilation, called infibulation or Pharaonic
circumcision. And let’s not be dainty or euphemistic. This is a grotesque human rights abuse that doesn’t get
much attention because it involves private parts and is awkward to talk about. So pardon the bluntness about
what infibulation entails.
The girls’ genitals are carved out, including the clitoris and labia, often with no anesthetic. What’s left of the
flesh is sewn together with three to six stitches — wild thorns in rural areas, or needle and thread in the cities.
The cutter leaves a tiny opening to permit urination and menstruation. Then the girls’ legs are tied together,
and she is kept immobile for 10 days until the flesh fuses together.
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A GIRL CRIES IN TERROR AS SHE IS CIRCUMCISED IN SOUTH ASIA
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FGM POEM FROM SOMALIA
By Abdi-Noor H. Mohamed
Birth of a baby must be a blessing event
But mine was nothing short of a curse
Daddy's face didn't shine. Drums didn't make noise
No shots were fired. No ceremony was held
The new born was me. I am a girl
In my culture, gender counts most.
A girl is not as welcome as a baby boy
Raising camel in the rangeland
is family's highest priority
They believe a girl has no hands for that
Harsh combat against the enemies
is family's highest priority
They believe a girl has no heart for that
Reconciliation in the aftermath of a clash
is family's highest priority
They believe a girl has no head for that
At five I had to face the worst
A knife cut across my genitals
A midwife circumcised me
Stitched me. Infibulated me
Where I used to have a clit
I have a black scar now
Why inflict me with this pain?
This real Pain of primitive cultures
In tears I am, at every stage of my life
Mom and Dad, I'm I not a daughter?
Dear Brother, I'm I not a sister?
Dear mankind, wherever you are
I'm I not a human being?
Tears, Tears, Tears