Who Will Defend the Defenders? Gambian Activists Face Smear Campaign

October 26, 2010 By

Dr. Isatou Touray and Amie Bojang Sissoho are two prominent women’s human rights defenders in the Gambia. They are the executive director and program coordinator of the Gambia Committee for Traditional Practices (GAMCOTRAP), which has been active in fighting for the promotion of gender rights, mainly fighting against the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM).

Recently, both women were arrested and imprisoned by the Gambian government. They were recently released on bail and stand trial soon. Arrested on bogus charges of embezzlement, their arrest represents the contentious debate surrounding FGM and the Gambian government’s animosity towards human rights defenders.

GAMCOTRAP has been accused of misappropriating 30,000 euros from another NGO in Spain called Yolocamba Solidaridad. A panel organized by the government has been investigating the matter, thus leading to their prosecution. A conflict between two NGOs is not usually the place for a government to step in. Even the leader of Yolocamba has called for their release, stating that the problem is administrative, rather than criminal. While this issue has received a great deal of attention from international organizations, I have yet to see it be covered in the mainstream media.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: News, Politics Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

FGM in Kristof and WuDunn’s Half the Sky

August 10, 2010 By

After watching Moolaadé, I recalled that I had come across a story several months ago of how FGM is combated in Senegal in Kristof and WuDunn’s Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, released in 2009. Kristof and WuDunn devote the thirteenth chapter of the book (chapter: “Grassroots vs. Treetops”) to looking at an organization, Tostan, that works to “empower African communities to bring about sustainable development and positive social transformation” that has contributed to a reduction of FGM in African communities.  The book itself explores women’s empowerment in developing countries.

Kristof and WuDunn establish early on in the chapter the demographic of individuals who practice FGM: “Today, female genital cutting is practiced mostly by Muslims in Africa, though it is also found in many Christian families in Africa.  It is not found in most Arab or Islamic cultures outside Africa” (221).  The emphasis is on Muslim African women who experience FGM.

Kristof and WuDunn highlight the work of a American expatriate, Molly Melching (the founder of Tostan), as they explore the organization’s contribution to reducing FGM in Senegalese communities.  The “major educational program includes units on democracy, human rights, problem-solving, hygiene, health, and management skills” (226) and lasts for three years.  The model doesn’t touch explicitly on “women’s rights” (to avoid antagonizing village men, who also attend the program).  The group is not dedicated solely to addressing FGM, but instead places a “nonjudgmental discussion of human rights and health issues related to cutting” within the program.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Books/Magazines, Culture/Society Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

FGM in Sembene’s Moolaadé

August 9, 2010 By

Moolaadé, directed by the Senegalese filmmaker Ousmane Sembene and released in 2004,tells the story of a group of young African Muslim girls who have refused to undergo a “purification” ceremony in an African village. The girls seek protection (“moolaadé”) from a woman, Colle (played by actress Fatoumata Coulibaly), who finds the practice abhorrent and is sympathetic to the girls’ pleas.  What ensues is a story of impending social change—the intertwining of the media, cultural influence, and a woman’s steadfast resolve to stand up for her convictions and combat a debilitating and sometimes fatal social convention: female genital mutilation.

The film uses terms like “cut,” “purification” and “social convention” to refer to the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM). Sembene rarely refers to the procedure as FGM within the subtitles of the film (if I remember correctly, it is only referred to as FGM towards the end of the film once).  He instead refers to women who have undergone the procedure as those who have been “cut,” the procedure itself being referred to as “purification.”

The term “FGM” is considered controversial due to the negative connotation associated with “mutilation,” in addition to the practice and ideology behind the term’s denotation. What is female genital mutilation?  And what terms does MMW use to refer to it? Female genital cutting?  Excision?  Circumcision?  Each word lends a unique connotation to the practice.  After discussing the term with my fellow MMW contributors, henceforth in the article, I will use the term “female genital mutilation,” as described by the World Health Organization (WHO) to be:

all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.

The WHO outlines four types of FGM: clitoridectomy, excision, infibulation, and other (“all other harmful procedures to the female genitalia for non-medical purposes”) that occur primarily in western and northeastern Africa, but also in parts of West Asia.

As I read more about the film itself, I was surprised to learn that all of the women who acted in the film had experienced FGM themselves.  In an interview with Cinema Scope, “Woman is the Future of Man,” Sembene remarks on the courage of these actors: [Read more...]

Filed Under: Cinema, Culture/Society Tagged With: , , ,