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24 Jan 2012 - NPWJ News Digest on FGM & women's rights
Articles
Female circumcision among women's issues to be tackled by government
by Stephen Drill From, Herald Sun , 23 Jan 2012
Immigrants groups who practise tribal rites on young women will be counselled under a plan to stop violence against women.
Women's Affairs Minister Mary Wooldridge said female circumcision, sexting (explicit phone messages) and cyber bullying would be given more weight alongside domestic violence.
Ms Wooldridge said more needed to be done to protect women in vulnerable situations, including migrants suffering female circumcision.
Middle East: first conference on female genital mutilation (FGM)
Siawi.org, 20 Jan 2012
The first conference ever on female genital mutilation (FGM) in the Middle East is currently taking place in Beirut, Lebanon, with participants from Iraqi Kurdistan, Central Iraq and Yemen with input from experts from Indonesia and Egypt. The groundbreaking event, organized by the non-governmental organizations Wadi and Hivos, is serving as a first common platform for experts and activists fighting FGM in the Middle East. Its purpose is to learn from each other, create a network and cooperation structure, and develop a coherent transnational strategy to eradicate FGM.
Until recently FGM was considered to be practiced mostly in African countries. Not much information is available about this practice in the Middle East. However, research, publications and various other evidence indicate that it is also practiced in Yemen, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Oman and Saudi Arabia. FGM is still very much a taboo issue in the Middle East. It is high time to break the silence about this gross violation of human and women’s rights.
A cutting tradition
by Sara Corbett, NY Times, 20 Jan 2012
When a girl is taken — usually by her mother — to a free circumcision event held each spring in Bandung, Indonesia, she is handed over to a small group of women who, swiftly and yet with apparent affection, cut off a small piece of her genitals. Sponsored by the Assalaam Foundation, an Islamic educational and social-services organization, circumcisions take place in a prayer center or an emptied-out elementary-school classroom where desks are pushed together and covered with sheets and a pillow to serve as makeshift beds. The procedure takes several minutes. There is little blood involved. Afterward, the girl’s genital area is swabbed with the antiseptic Betadine. She is then helped back into her underwear and returned to a waiting area, where she’s given a small, celebratory gift — some fruit or a donated piece of clothing — and offered a cup of milk for refreshment. She has now joined a quiet majority in Indonesia, where, according to a 2003 study by the Population Council, an international research group, 96 percent of families surveyed reported that their daughters had undergone some form of circumcision by the time they reached 14.
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Puntland takes stand against Female Genital Mutilation
Interpeace, 18 Jan 2012
“An estimated 100 to 140 million girls and women worldwide are currently living with the consequences of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). In Africa an estimated 92 million girls 10 and older have undergone FGM. FGM is internationally recognized as a violation of the human rights of girls and women.” - World Health Organization
Two decades of civil war have contributed to the negligence of women’s rights across the Somali region. Women continue to suffer from the tragedies of the war as well as from practices including FGM.
However, the government of Puntland enacted laws against Female Genital Mutilation in November 2011, a development that has been welcomed by human rights activists across the world. The new law came into effect after long discussions and eventual support by the traditional and religious leaders in addition to various scholars.
FGM not merely an Africa problem; high rates in the Middle East
Hivos.nl, 18 Jan 2012
The first ever conference on female genital mutilation (FGM) in the Middle East is currently taking place in Beirut, Lebanon, with participants from Iraqi Kurdistan, Central Iraq and Yemen with input from experts from Indonesia and Egypt. The groundbreaking event, organized by the non-governmental organizations Wadi and Hivos, is serving as a first common platform for experts and activists fighting FGM in the Middle East. Its purpose is to learn from each other, create a network and cooperation structure, and develop a coherent transnational strategy to eradicate FGM.
Female Genital Mutilation: The Wound That Is Hard To Reveal And Even Harder To Be Kept Hidden...
by Omon Catherine, Face2FaceAfrica, 17 Jan 2012
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) also known as female circumcision or female genital cutting is the partial or complete removal of external female genital organs such as the vulva and/or the clitoris. Basically what occurs in this procedure is that part or the entire clitoris is sliced through the use of razors, blades, knives and even scissors. FGM is such a highly controversial practice that although not as widespread as it once was, it is still practiced on over 80 million women a year.
It has naturally maintained its attraction, mainly from the family decision-makers in areas of the world-parts of Africa, the Middle East and Asia where it remains an important custom. With this in mind, it is important to question if the eradication of female genital mutilation is a realistic goal, and if so, what indicators, mechanisms and processes can be used for monitoring progress and to ensure success?
Women's Security in South Sudan
Sudan Human Security Baseline Assessment, 13 Jan 2012
Human security can be said to have two main aspects. It means, first, safety from such chronic threats as hunger, disease and repression. And second, it means protection from sudden and hurtful disruptions in the patterns of daily life—whether in homes, in jobs or in communities. - United Nations, Human Development Report 1994
As South Sudan emerges from over 50 years of war, traditional notions of security inevitably dominate this deeply patriarchal society. While tensions with Sudan continue to simmer, and militia group assaults and tribal clashes threaten local and national stability, external threats to security are numerous. Yet for women, threats to their well-being are even more prevalent in the home—a fact that is often overlooked.
For the women of South Sudan, the concept of ‘human security’ best addresses the challenges that threaten them on a daily basis. It is a term that recognizes that a person’s well-being is determined by a much broader range of factors than just conflict and crime. Human security encompasses access to food and health care, economic stability, and respect for human rights. It also includes the ability to live free from the fear of violence.
