Grief to promoting education: Jacqueline’s inspiration to end FGM/C
By Megan Seaver Jacqueline’s story with female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) is one of both survival and advocacy. She works tirelessly to prevent other families from pressuring their daughters to undergo FGM/C, and the origins of her work are from her own insight after undergoing the practice herself. “Until age 7 on that day, I had two lovely childhood girl friends… We were meant to be mutilated on the same day. But me being the granddaughter of the cutter, they went through the exercise first… It ended up causing their death, because the bleeding from the cut began to spread.” Jacquline found it difficult to forgive her grandmother for her participation in carrying on the harmful practice. This loss of her friends and the disagreements with her grandmother allowed her to realize how dangerous FGM/C is. “Going through the practice of FGM/C [female genital mutilation] myself at a very early age and also seeing other girls go through it too, I know that pain that the cut causes. That is why I feel the practice must end with me, and a new generation must begin with me, so no one else feels that pain.” “I knew that it was my mission, to carry on this message to a wider audience. In spirit, in my community, and in my country. And to also save my girls from going through the same practice. I have three beautiful girls and none of them are taking the cut.” Jacqueline is the founder of the Covenant Foundation for Girls (COFGIRLS), The organization focuses on providing educational information about the dangers of FGM/C to young girls, and also goes to rural areas to create dialogues surrounding ending FGM/C. In 2010, Jacqueline and her team received a grant from Equality Now to support their educational efforts to visit villages to educate young girls and their parents about FGM/C. “So we were a team of seven persons… but four of my other teammates did not go through the practice, so they didn’t understand the [negative] response we would get when bringing up FGM/C in rural villages.” Taboos associated with speaking about FGM/C can make educational efforts difficult and conversations to end the practice were met with hostility; Jacqueline remembered in one village, choosing to stick up for her teammates, and taking responsibility for bringing up the topic of FGM/C in that setting. She pointed to the combination of a lack of education and the establishment of the practice within the rural communities that made this advocacy work so challenging. Jacqueline does not view FGM/C as “a cultural heritage that needs to be upheld.” Rather, she emphasizes a “need to have a national dialogue, to bring together stakeholders and chiefs” to work towards ending it. Years later, her activism led her to attend the 2023 Women Deliver Conference held in Kigali, Rwanda. At the conference, Jacqueline signed on as a founding member of the newly emerged End FGM/C Network Africa, an organization aimed at uniting voices of advocacy in the hope of influencing those in power to support the end of FGM/C in Africa. The future is bright for Jacqueline’s advocacy work. When asked about where to go from here, she mentioned the vital importance of educating men on the harm that FGM/C causes, and how their support of the practice in communities she works with has led to irreversible trauma for the women in their families and communities. “Everyone, especially parents of survivors, need to learn the truth about female genital cutting and help us to save our girls’ futures. FGM/C is cruel, deadly, and an abuse of human rights.”
Jo Keogh reflects on the 2023 Women Deliver Conference
The Women Deliver 2023 Conference (WD 2023) took place in-person, as well as virtually, from 17-20 July 2023, in Kigali, Rwanda. The conference convened around 6,000 people in Kigali, and over 200,000 people online. Amongst those attending the conference was Jo Keogh, Sahiyo U.S. Advisory Board member as well as a founding member of the Connecticut Coalition to End FGM/C. She reflects on her experience in Kigali: Many things impressed me about Rwanda: the beauty of the land, the warmth and hospitality of the people, and, of course, the exciting experience of attending the Women Deliver Conference. Being in the presence of people committed to ending FGM/C from all over the globe was both moving and encouraging. Especially profound was hearing stories from frontline workers who have made ending this harmful practice their personal mission. Our own Mariya Taher is among them. I knew before traveling to the conference that Mariya is well-known here in the States for her tireless work around ending FGM/C. What I didn’t realize is that she is recognized and respected internationally for that work. Representatives from organizations fighting FGM/C all over the world knew who Mariya was. When I told people at the conference that I was with Sahiyo, their eyes would light up. It was remarkable to witness. I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to attend the Women Deliver conference and to understand the impact that Sahiyo has had the world over. The more I learn about Mariya, the more I admire who she is and all that she has accomplished. Learn more about the 2023 WD Conference.
2023 Kigali Declaration launched at the Women Deliver Pre-Conference
Kigali, Rwanda — On July 16th, the Catalyzing Global Action to End FGM/C Women Deliver Pre-Conference (of which Sahiyo as a part of the Global Platform for Action to End FGM/C was a co-host) saw the launch of the Kigali Declaration which called on funders to close the funding gap needed to end FGM/C amongst future generations. This declaration serves as an exercise of collective power from hundreds of activists, grassroots organizations, international NGOs, and academics, to highlight the urgent resourcing need for the End Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting sector. Specifically, this calls for accelerated investments and actions, with women-led organizations and the feminist movement at the center, for women and girls’ bodily autonomy and sexual and reproductive health and rights. It also includes a call for a global summit dedicated to funding the end of this harmful practice. The Declaration emphasizes the need to shift funding to grassroots organizations, and aims to mobilize donors and stakeholders to invest in the movement and bridge the funding gap: where only $4 available to avert each case of FGM/C, when $95 is required. By galvanizing support and resources, we can make significant strides in our efforts to end FGM/C. Read the 2023 Kigali Declaration here. Cover photo: Nabeela Iqbal reads out the Kigali Declaration on July 18th at a Women Delivery Plenary event
Cohosting Catalyzing Global Action to End FGM/C – A Pre-Conference at Women Deliver 2023
The Women Deliver 2023 Conference (WD 2023) is taking place in-person, as well as virtually, from July 17-20th in Kigali, Rwanda. The conference is expected to convene 6,000 people in Kigali, and over 200,000 people online. On July 16th, Sahiyo, as a member of the Global Platform for Action to End FGM/C, co-hosted this year’s Pre-Conference on FGM/C – Catalyzing Global Action to End FGM/C. About the FGM/C Preconference: The FGM/C Pre-Conference, Catalyzing Global Action to End FGM/C, was a space of shared solidarity, bringing together activists and organizations working to end FGM/C across Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and America. It promoted knowledge exchange, interregional collaboration, and global cooperation with the aim of catalyzing collective action and movement building, designing actionable commitments, and working toward substantive structural change. As part of the conference, one panel session during the day that included funders of the FGM/C field included, ‘From Rhetoric to Reality: Closing the Funding Gap and Uniting for Action to End Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting’. This was a precursor to the launch of the Kigali Declaration that day. This declaration includes a call for a global summit dedicated to funding the end of this harmful practice. The Declaration emphasizes the need to shift funding to grassroots organizations and aims to mobilize donors and stakeholders to invest in the movement and bridge the funding gap- where only $4 available to avert each case of FGM/C, when $95 is required. By galvanizing support and resources, significant strides can be made to end FGM/C. Read more about Women Deliver and the Conference.
Announcing the Women Deliver 2023 Conference
The Women Deliver 2023 Conference (WD 2023) is scheduled to take place in-person, as well as virtually, from 17-20 July 2023, in Kigali, Rwanda. The conference is expected to convene 6000 people in Kigali, and over 200,000 people online. Before the opening ceremony on July 17th, there will be a series of Pre-Conferences held over two days from July 15-16th. Sahiyo is incredibly proud to co-host and be part of the planning of this year’s Pre-conference on FGM/C –Catalyzing Global Action to End FGM/C. About FGM/C Preconference: The FGM/C Pre-Conference, Catalyzing Global Action to End FGM/C, will be a space of shared solidarity, bringing together activists and organizations working to end FGM/C across Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and America. It will promote knowledge exchange, interregional collaboration, and global cooperation with the aim of catalyzing collective action and movement building, designing actionable commitments, and working toward substantive structural change. Hosts: The Global Platform to End FGM/C, Orchid Project, ARROW, End FGM European Network, Sahiyo, Equality Now, Amref Health Africa, The Girl Generation, IPPF ARAB World Region, U.S. End FGM/C Network, and End FGM Canada Network Date and time: July 16, 2023 from 8:30 AM – 5:30 PM CAT More information: https://www.wd2023.org/pre-conferences About Women Deliver 2023: The Women Deliver 2023 Conference, using intersectional feminist principles, will address a wide range of issues impacting girls and women– including (but not limited to) climate change, gender- based violence (GBV) and unpaid care work. The theme of WD2023 is Spaces, Solidarity and Solutions. Learn more about the Conference here. History of the Global Platform: At the FGM/C Pre-Conference ahead of Women Deliver 2019 in Vancouver Canada, the organisations that would come to make up the Global Platform for Action to end FGM/C came together in recognition of the imperative for us to work together – as civil society, donors and allies – to make FGM/C a practice of the past. This represented the first time that global FGM/C activists from Africa to Europe, from Australia to Asia and to North America came together to unite voices around a global call to action to end FGM/C. The Asia Network to end FGM/C was also formed during Women Deliver 2019. The global and regional partnerships that were formed on that occasion have grown and strengthened their internal cooperation, working towards common advocacy goals at the regional and global levels respectively.