COMMEMORATING THE INTERNATIONAL DAY OF ZERO TOLERANCE TO FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION

On 17 June 2002 at 12:45 A.M., Mrs. Amina admitted her 8-year-old daughter to hospital emergency services in Djibouti because of severe blood loss from a gaping wound in the young girl’s vulva. The child was completely bloodless with all the signs of acute anemia. Because of the urgency of the situation, the young girl was immediately placed under the care of physicians who attempted to stop the blood flow and began a blood transfusion. Unfortunately, despite all the efforts undertaken to save the child, she died two hours after being admitted to the hospital.

Here’s how the tragedy began for mother and daughter. On the morning of 16th June at 6:00 A.M., this mother placed her 8-year-old daughter, a lively little girl brimming with health, joy and vitality, into the hands of a traditional excision practitioner from a disreputable area of the city. This woman’s only tool for the FGM procedure was a well-used half of a razor blade, and the only painkillers she provided were sugar and powdered myrrh (an herb). After a short reading from the Koran to drive away evil spirits, one of the girl’s aunts was called upon to hold her firmly. Immobilized, she was placed on a stool with her legs spread apart. Other female relations and neighbors helped the aunt to ensure the child was unable to move.

Despite the young girl’s cries and supplications, the practitioner began her work, cutting away all the external genital organs—labia minora, clitoris and labia majora. Next, she sprinkled the wound with a mixture of sugar and myrrh, whichhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif was meant to stop the bleeding, and then used a scrap of cloth to tie the child’s legs together in order to bring the two open parts of the wound together to heal Read more... http://www.unicef.org/djibouti/french/reallives_3061.html

An estimated 100 million to 140 million girls and women worldwide have undergone female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and more than 3 million girls are at risk for cutting each year on the African continent alone. FGM/C is generally performed on girls between ages 4 and 12, although it is practiced in some cultures as early as a few days after birth or as late as just prior to marriage. FGM/C poses serious physical and mental health risks for women and young girls. According to a 2006 WHO study, FGM/C can be linked to increased complications in childbirth and even maternal deaths. Other side effects include severe pain, hemorrhage, tetanus, infection, infertility, cysts and abscesses, urinary incontinence, and psychological and sexual problems. Since the early 1990s, FGM/C has gained recognition as a health and human rights issue.

In Uganda, Kapchorwa district is a tiny town in the remote mountains of Uganda where the Sabiny people live. Isolated by geography and poverty they are the only people in Uganda to circumcise their women, and they are fiercely protective of their culture. This is an environment in which people believe an uncircumcised woman is not fit to gather grain from a granary, let alone be married.

To end all such injustices February 6 was unanimously adopted at the International Conference on Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) organized by Inter-African Committee on Traditional Practices (IAC) from February 4 to 6, 2003 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Representatives at the Conference came from 49 countries including 4 First Ladies (from Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Guinea Conakry and Mali), Ministers, and Parliamentarians. Others included Religious, Community and Youth leaders. Since 2003, the IAC with her National Committees in 28 African countries, Affiliates and Partners across the world in Austria, Belgium, Canada, England, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Spain, Sweden, The Netherlands and USA calls on Governments, Parliamentarians, UN Agencies, NGOs, donor community, Religious leaders, Community leaders, Youth, communities and members of the Press to make a greater commitment to ensure the elimination of FGM.

The objective of observing February 6 is to draw the attention, at the international and national levels to efforts that need to be exerted to free women and girls from female genital mutilation and to accelerate action towards its elimination by the set target date of 2010 according to the Common Agenda for Action or by 2015 being the target of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG).

I therefore challenge everyone reading this to take up some action to put an end to FGM in their respective communities.

By Andrew Ssekirevu
Action For Development