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mbay
Germany
1007 Posts |
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kiwi
Sweden
662 Posts |
 Posted - 24 Nov 2006 : 17:11:36
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"Muslim scholars from around the world have called for female genital mutilation to be banned and those who carry it out to face punishment." (Quote from the article.)
Good news, indeed.
And, as the conference was organised by a German human rights group, Target, for Serenata "the German spokeswoman" (as someone repeatedly keeps saying), to be proud of |
kiwi |
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jambo
3300 Posts |
Posted - 24 Nov 2006 : 17:13:12
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| HOW WILL THIS REACH THE RURAL WOMEN, WHO ARE THE MAIN PRACTICERS OF THIS. |
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serenata
Germany
1400 Posts |
Posted - 24 Nov 2006 : 17:34:20
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kiwi01  But I, SERENATA, SPOKESWOMAN AND EMPRESS, prefer to stay humble and modest 
Really good news, and maybe an important step towards a better future for women. I think there will be some resistance (we should not forget that FGM is not practised by Muslims only), but I am confident that sooner or later it will be banned worldwide. |
Edited by - serenata on 24 Nov 2006 18:34:19 |
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kiwi
Sweden
662 Posts |
Posted - 24 Nov 2006 : 18:16:33
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Serenata, I can see you stand up for your humble beliefs
Jambo, what is your suggestion? A mission for you when travelling to Gambia! |
kiwi |
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Sister Omega
United Kingdom
2085 Posts |
Posted - 24 Nov 2006 : 18:30:42
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Good news let's hope the myths surrounding FGM are finally resigned to the pages of history, and zero tolerance is adopted in all Islamic and other nations which practice it.
Peace
Sister Omega |
Peace
Sister Omega |
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serenata
Germany
1400 Posts |
Posted - 24 Nov 2006 : 18:33:31
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| I hope the decision will be passed on by the Muslim clergy. This is of course not as easy as it is for a centralised organisation like the Roman Catholic Church. |
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anna
Netherlands
730 Posts |
Posted - 24 Nov 2006 : 18:39:45
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Amen to that! Although Jambo had a good point: how will this reach the women living in the villages?
Isn't it nice to have a topic every once in a while that we all agree on (i mean even spokeswomen and empresses, and the ordinary girls too)? |
When an old African dies, it is as if a whole library has burnt down.
Amadou Hampate Ba (Mali) |
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serenata
Germany
1400 Posts |
Posted - 24 Nov 2006 : 18:47:12
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Anna, what about the men, including spokesmen and emperors? Are you sure all of them really agree?
But I think this news will spread. There are many women's organisations fighting FGM, and I am sure they will do anything to publish it. I'll check the Terre des Femmes website soon. What about UN?
Next time I go to Gambia I will talk with women about the issue. |
Edited by - serenata on 24 Nov 2006 18:55:38 |
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jambo
3300 Posts |
Posted - 24 Nov 2006 : 19:51:45
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one of the issues raised in Gambia regarding female circumsision was the pay. This for some women is a business they get paid to perform this ritual. It is called "putting or dropping the knife" how would htey make a living. It was hard to say much after this. No matter how many issues come into play, they need to have another way of making a living.
some were going into a trade, tailoring or hairdressing.
The other issue and this is what is good about the is Call to End, is that the men folk of the regions would not say anything against it. so they said okay say no for the next daughter. They asked all men to say no to the operation for their daughters.
If men do not expect if women will not do it. but men who want a "WIFE who is Clean" cloud the issue.
SO THIS CALL TO END IS GOOD, I hope they talk about it in the mosque.
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sab
United Kingdom
912 Posts |
Posted - 26 Nov 2006 : 01:32:56
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Serenata, when next in The Gambia buy yourself a copy of Ultimate Conflict - Baba Galleh Jallow, you will always find a copy at 'Timbooktoo Bookshop' at the Sabena Juntion/Fajara, I am sure you will appreciate the fifty pages of reading.
www.unfpa.org/gender/practices2.htm is also an excellent site with good links.
Unfortunatly, banning FGM worldwide will not make any significance difference,it is a harmful desired tradition that will take many years of hard fighting for the strong educated women of Africa to overcome, and the fact it is not a religious obligation makes it all the more absurd.
There have been lengthy interesting religious debates on old bantaba that you could also look up.
Freedom cannot be achieved unless women have been emancipated from all forms of oppression / Mandela |
The world would be a poorer place if it was peopled by children whose parents risked nothing in the cause of social justice, for fear of personal loss. (Joe Slovo - African revolutionary) |
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sab
United Kingdom
912 Posts |
Posted - 26 Nov 2006 : 15:53:20
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copied from www.equalitynow.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 1, 2006
Contact: Taina Bien-Aimé
212-586-0906
Georgia Court Finds Father Guilty of Female Genital Mutilation in First U.S Conviction
Equality Now Hopes Case Leads to Action to End Female Genital Mutilation
November 1, 2006. A Georgia court found an Ethiopian man accused of subjecting his 2-year-old daughter to female genital mutilation (FGM) guilty of cruelty to children and aggravated battery in the first FGM trial in the United States. Khalid Adem of Gwinnett County, a suburb of Atlanta, was charged with these crimes in April 2003. Judge Richard Winegarden sentenced Mr. Adem today to 15 years, 10 years in confinement and 5 years of probation.
“This is a significant case in the fight to end FGM in the US and around the world,” said Taina Bien-Aimé, executive director of Equality Now. “This decision sends a clear message that subjecting girls to FGM will be punishable by law. We also hope that this case generates a call to action to empower voices within immigrant communities across the US who are speaking out against FGM and working to end the practice.”
Equality Now, whose offices are in New York, Nairobi and London, manages the Fund for Grassroots Activism to End FGM, a partnership with two dozen local groups in 14 African countries that work in their communities to eradicate the harmful traditional practice. In 2003, when the Adem case first broke out, Equality Now organized a meeting in Atlanta with African activists from Ethiopia, Senegal, Somalia, Mali and other African countries and local organizers in African immigrant communities in Georgia to exchange ideas and to strategize collectively for outreach to end the underground practice in the US. The meeting also highlighted the critical need for community outreach and education, which much be underscored in light of the Adem conviction. Subsequent to the meeting, Georgia passed a law prohibiting FGM in 2005, the 17th state to do so. The US federal law criminalizing FGM was enacted in 1997.
FGM is a harmful traditional practice that affects an estimated 130 million women around the world causing lifelong physical and psychological harm. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimated in 1997 that over 168,000 girls and women living in the United States either were subjected to or are at risk of being subjected to FGM in practicing immigrant African communities in the U.S. in states including Georgia.
Equality Now is an international human rights organization that works to protect and promote the civil, political, economic and social rights of girls and women.
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The world would be a poorer place if it was peopled by children whose parents risked nothing in the cause of social justice, for fear of personal loss. (Joe Slovo - African revolutionary) |
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sab
United Kingdom
912 Posts |
Posted - 26 Nov 2006 : 16:01:27
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UPDATE: WOMEN'S ACTION 13.2
DECEMBER 1997
The Gambia: Government Rescinds Censorship Policy on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) The Gambia Committee on Traditional Practices P.O. Box 2990, Serrekunda, The Gambia
6 November 1997.
EQUALITY NOW
NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10019
Dear Friends,
GAMCOTRAP wishes to express its appreciation to EQUALITY NOW and all its affiliates for the support and active involvement for the ALERTS which contributed immensely for rescinding the policy directive against Female Genital Mutilation of the Government of The Gambia. We are pleased to inform you formally that The Government of the Gambia has now made a public announcement that issues of reproductive health including FGM can be announced and all NGOs are allowed to make use of the government media with regards to FGM.
We hope that this collaboration with your organization will continue in the future and see where we can work closely in terms of identification of activities geared towards the empowerment of the girl-child.
Please extend our appreciation to all our friends.
Yours sincerely,
Mary Small.
Programme Co-ordinator,
GAMCOTRAP
Copied from www.equalitynow.org
Freedom cannot be achieved unless women have been emancipated from all forms of oppression / Mandela |
The world would be a poorer place if it was peopled by children whose parents risked nothing in the cause of social justice, for fear of personal loss. (Joe Slovo - African revolutionary) |
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mbay
Germany
1007 Posts |
Posted - 26 Nov 2006 : 22:05:25
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is the Gambian government also condemning FGM?
if it is so please i need a further information about that.
because some one is in trouble with the Germany authority they even plan to stop her going with her daughter to Gambia and she need to prof this. please any one is welcoming to help her out of this mess.
thanks |
Edited by - mbay on 26 Nov 2006 22:05:59 |
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serenata
Germany
1400 Posts |
Posted - 27 Nov 2006 : 12:46:21
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Mbay, sorry I can't help you with more informations about the Gambian government than Sab already gave. But I would like to know which evidence the German authorities can produce that this woman is planning a circumcision in Gambia. If they have good reasons, I would even support them in their attempt to save the girl's health. If it is just chicanery it can be stopped. Your friend could ask organisations like PRO ASYL or the Ausländerbeirat of the city council.
Sab, thank you; I will try to get the book! I share your doubts that a change will come soon, but now important steps are done, and this development will proceed. As jambo said: FGM means money for many old women. Therefore banning it is not enough. Some other African countries (e.g. Mali) showed that with the help of NGOs it is possible to compensate the old ladies' losses and even integrate them into the process once they realise that FGM is unhealthy. |
Edited by - serenata on 27 Nov 2006 13:04:11 |
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jambo
3300 Posts |
Posted - 27 Nov 2006 : 13:05:14
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mbay the gambian government and yaya are against this practice a hundred percent and have made it illegall but the problem is who would prosecute the case YAYA once stated he would go to every village and make it illegal but the problem starts when he leaves the village< this is a cultural issue and a tribal issue
hope that helps |
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