ionIn 90 countries across the developing world, cultures continue to practice female genital mutilation and cutting (FGM/C). FGM/C is the “harmful practice involving the full or partial removal or injury to a girl’s external genitals.” Despite cultural traditions, this is a practice that causes serious physical and psychological harm to more than four million girls yearly and more than 230 million girls and women who continue to experience the consequences of such harm. For these reasons, multiple nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) are working to end FGM/C across the globe.
Global Woman P.E.A.C.E. Foundation
One such organization is the Global Woman P.E.A.C.E. Foundation (GWPF). This foundation believes that FGM/C is a human rights violation and that women across the globe have rights to bodily autonomy and health. In this way, GWPF works to eradicate FGM/C through multiple rehabilitation and prevention projects in West Africa.
On the rehabilitation side, GWPF offers a monthly online support group with a licensed therapist and allocates funds for vaginal restorative surgery for survivors who continue to experience pain years after FGM/C. Prevention-wise, GWPF offers both a scholarship program and a sanitary pad program to keep girls in school, as well as scholarships for boys to educate future generations of fathers and leaders about FGM/C.
GWPF also offers training to educators and law enforcement to recognize and protect at-risk girls, making this organization an important contributor to NGOs working to end FGM/C.
The Orchid Project
The Orchid Project is another one of many NGOs working to end FGM/C. The organization accomplishes this goal through research, knowledge sharing and advocacy. The research of The Orchid Project is a vital tool in increasing data surrounding FGM/C, making information about the practice accessible and helping communities understand what techniques are effective for ending FGM/C.
This research is then applied in Knowledge Sharing Workshops in 12 cities across five African countries, where communities can share experiences and solutions to end this harmful practice. These workshops emphasize a social norms-based approach, as FGM/C continues to be an issue rooted in tradition and culture. The Orchid Project is also an important figure among NGOs working to end FGM/C due to its advocacy work at all levels (from community to global) that focuses on building up resources, policy influence, community support and inclusivity.
Joint Program on the Elimination of FGM
The largest programs designed to end FGM/C are the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Joint Program on the Elimination of FGM. This joint program began in 2008 and services 17 countries where FGM/C is a pressing issue. This program works in many ways, including legal frameworks, government involvement, community engagement, services and advocacy outreach to end the practice of FMG/C.
Some notable accomplishments of these programs include 3,200 arrests or legal actions, the prevention of FGM/C for more than 690,000 girls via community surveillance and the participation of more than 4.1 million people in mobilization/education sessions held by the UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Program. While this is a brief overview of the anti-FGM/C work by this program, it is clear that their work is extensive and effective.
Concluding Thoughts
While culture is a valuable part of life for every community, there continue to be unacceptable aspects of many cultures. One such aspect is the cultural practice of FGM/C. It is vital to the health and safety of women and girls that NGOs like the ones mentioned above continue to work to end the practice so that future generations of girls can be free from the physical and psychological pain caused by the practice.
– Carlie Duggan
Carlie is based in Newtown, PA, USA and focuses on Global Health for The Borgen Project.
Photo: Pexels
