Creation of paedagogical and communicative material on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)
The Wassu Foundation has been working on a pack of paedagogical material aimed at professionals, activists, entities, socio-educational and socio-health centres and city councils, to raise awareness among the population about female genital mutilation.
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is a fundamental violation of the rights of girls and women; it is any procedure that involves partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. Currently, more than 200 million women and girls are survivors of FGM in the 30 countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia where the practice is concentrated. Moreover, 15 million adolescent girls between the ages of 15 and 19 are at risk of being mutilated between now and 2030, according to figures from the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 2016.
The project Veus de Canvi included the participation of young activists linked to the struggle for the abandonment of FGM, who want to approach this issue from a critical intercultural perspective, making available to the public existing resources to address the practice with the ultimate goal of promoting its abandonment.
On the one hand, a series of videos have been translated and dubbed into English in which young activists discuss the different impacts that the practice of FGM can have and the different dimensions.
On the other hand, three short videos were created to be disseminated mainly through social networks. Based on the story of an African girl, Kadijatou, we reflect on the discourses and stories we find about the practice of FGM in three important areas of life: the media, education professionals, and health and social pressure. The videos are divided into two parts; the first one, in which there is the narration of a situation in which Kadijatou finds herself. And, the second, which is a reflection on these and speeches by Uma Alcaide, activist and expert in FGM.
Thus, the publication of the materials can facilitate mutual learning and the improvement of interventions in the prevention of FGM, while other professionals and organisations working in this field can benefit from the knowledge, strategies and good practices shared in these videos.
All materials can be consulted here.
This project was developed by the Wassu Foundation with the support of the Catalan Cooperation Fund and the collaboration of the Fundació Autònoma Solidària and activists Uma Alcaide, Mariana Jallow, Nogay Ndiaye and Mariama Jallow.