February 15, 2016

Men Speak Out

tags:	#female genital mutilation, #FGM, #FGM/C, #FMC, #human rights, #male awareness, #misogyny, #ritual, #tradition, #women's rights
by:	Deniz Zehra Tavli

Female Genital Mutilation/ Cutting (FGM/C) is the non-medical, ritual removal of some or all of the external female genitalia with no known health benefits. In contrary: The procedure often leads to severe physical problems, psychological traumas and very often even death caused by fatal bleeding or infections. This institutionalized and socially accepted practice is wide spread in many communities in Africa and the Middle East. According a report published by UNICEF, at least 130 million girls in 29 countries have been cut. FGM/C is a clear violation of girls’ and women’s human rights.

The majority of sensitisation work on the problem is carried out by women and there is a lack of male involvement in tackling the practice. FGM/C became a "women's affair". Sadly male members of FGM/C practicing communities and men in general hardly interfere on the issue and are badly informed about what this practice really is.

That is why Forward UK, GAMS Belgium, HIMILO Foundation and The Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp came together and started the "Men speak out" Project. The project's goal is to engage men in the process of ending FGM/C, raise general male awareness on the topic and sensitize men deriving from communities in which FGM/C is traditionally practiced. The project thus contributes, on a larger scale, to the stabilization of women's rights and promotes gender equality through a human rights approach.

If you want to engage in this project and become a "man who speaks out" against FGM/C or if you simply want to donate to one of the above mentioned organisations you may do so via the project's webpage.