Thursday, October 16, 2008

FGM Ban in Uganda

It isn't a country-wide ban, but its a promising start:
A community in eastern Uganda has banned the deeply rooted practice of female genital mutilation (FGM), an official has said...
"The community decided that it was not useful, that women were not getting anything out of it, so the district council decided to establish an ordinance banning it," Mr Chelimo told AFP news agency...

FGM is seen in some countries as a way to ensure virginity and to make a woman marriageable...

UN agencies have called for a major reduction in the practice by 2015.

They say it leads to bleeding, shock, infections and a higher rate of death for new-born babies.
It is hopeful to see this shift in rhetoric - the leaders of the community have stopped talking about what is desirable for men - a supposed insurance of virginity - and are instead promoting what is safe for women.

3 comments:

LaurenSC said...

That is a good start! Thanks for sharing the news.

I work for www.survivorcorps.org and just found out about an amazing event to raise awareness about Ugandan children left behind by war. It's called the GuluWalk and it's happening in lots of cities worldwide.

Here's more info if you're interested! http://www.wherewillyouwalk.com/#city

It's just so important to support the survivors..

Anonymous said...

Hooray!

A drop in the bucket, yes - but one day, that bucket's gonna be full!

LC said...

Here's a great video as well taken from a www.survivorcorps.org recent trip to Uganda and Burundi. Very powerful.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZnRzxWXVdU