I just returned from Uganda, and besides some great stories and pictures, I also want to share something else with you. I know I share a lot of petitions about humanitarian, environmental and social causes, but bear with me. In some parts of central and east Africa, there is a custom that is called Female Genital Mutilation (sometimes euphemistically called Female circumcision) . In short, parts of the female genitalia are removed. In some places this is part of tradition or it’s said to be hygienic. Regardless of the arguments, this practice often has severe medical consequences and causes pain and risks when going to the bathroom, at childbirth, intercourse, and much more. Resistance against this custom is growing, but as always, change comes slowly. In Uganda, I’ve met Ahabwe Michael, the founder of ICOD Action Network. This is an African NGO that tries to stop FGM. Because the founder and the people working there come from the country itself, they have a better understanding of what needs to be done and how to do it, within the culture and actual state of the country. For example, they’re trying to get political and religious leaders to speak against FGM (because they have a big influence on local communities). Another great example is that they’re getting grandmothers to talk to the younger women and girls of their communities, in order to break through the taboo and to educate them on the dangers of FGM before it is already too late. Large parts of Africa are community based, which is why this approach often works better than, for example, a large ad campaign. I feel that ICOD is working very effectively because they’re African based. Here are two short movies about the campaign. If you feel, like I do, that this cause is an important one, please share it with some people. If you donate to charities, I ask you to consider this one. It’s a one time donation. The link is included below. Thanks for reading all this! Video’s vimeo/94662396 vimeo/102400965 Donate: igg.me/at/barefootgrannies/x/639146
Posted on: Mon, 01 Sep 2014 09:36:07 +0000
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