GOOGLE+ Hangout – End Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting – FEB 6

Wednesday, 6 February 2013

 7:45 AM EST / 12:45 PM GMT

 

Join Here: http://bit.ly/WGlrCa

WHAT: To observe the International Day of Zero Tolerance of Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting, 6 February, UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, UNICEF and the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID) will host a Google+ Hangout discussion on the progress made in FGM/C abandonment, and the challenges that remain ahead.

WHO:

The virtual event will feature:

• Lynne Featherstone, UK Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development and Champion for the elimination of violence against women
• Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, Executive Director of UNFPA
• Dr. Atef El Shitany, Rapporteur of the National Population Council, Egypt
• Molly Melching, Founder and Executive Director of Tostan
• Janet Tumer, Young Il Shamus activist and FGM/C survivor, Kenya

To RSVP: http://bit.ly/WGlrCa

Ask your questions using #endFGM.

To submit a question, tweet #endFGM to @UNFPA, @UNICEFprotects or @DFID_UK, @INTACTnetwork

 

Female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) refers to several different harmful practices involving the cutting of the female genitals. It is estimated that about three million girls, the majority under 15 years of age, undergo the procedure every year. FGM/C is a practice deeply rooted in tradition and persists because it is a social convention upheld by underlying gender structures and power relations.

UNFPA and UNICEF, co-sponsors of the Joint Programme on Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting, aim to see communities that continue the practice abandon it in a generation. Key to their success is using a human rights-based approach to encourage communities to act collectively, so that girls or their families who opt out do not jeopardize marriage prospects or become social outcasts.

This approach has led some 8,000 communities across Africa to abandon the practice, usually through some form of public declaration. Media campaigns, alliances with religious or traditional leaders, and legal actions are other of the strategic approaches the programme supports.

RELATED:  Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting

6 February 2012 – Today UN Women joins women and men, boys and girls around the world in a call to action for zero tolerance for female genital mutilation (FGM).

The adoption of the landmark resolution banning female genital mutilation by the UN General Assembly this past December is a step in the right direction. We applaud the progress being made by communities, by individuals to abandon this harmful practice and protect the rights and dignity of girls and women.

FGM is a violation of human rights that poses serious health threats and can be fatal. Nearly 140 million women and girls worldwide are living with FGM and some three million more remain at risk every year.

There is good news. From Benin to Burkina Faso, from Ethiopia to Egypt, from Gambia to Guinea, from Senegal to Somalia, progress is being made. In many countries and communities, people are coming together to abandon this harmful practice. They take action to protect the right of women and girls to live healthy lives free of violence and discrimination.

Leadership at every level, from national to local Governments, including community and religious leaders, the media, medical professionals, and within families is the key to ending FGM.

UN Women supports Governments and partners to eradicate female genital mutilation and to advance women’s empowerment and gender equality. – Michelle Bachelet