The Orchid Project has a simple vision: a world free from female genital cutting (FGC).*
FGC is a globally recognised abuse of human rights, child rights and women’s rights. Nevertheless, 3 million girls a year are cut in Africa alone.
Orchid’s work aims to end the silence and taboo around FGC and to push for FGC to take the position it deserves: high on the priority list.
We want to shine the light on excellent work being done at country levels, where thousands of communities are choosing to abandon FGC.
This grassroots movement of communities abandoning FGC leads us to believe that it can be ended within a generation, in the same way that foot-binding ended.
Orchid’s aim is to enable an end to female genital cutting globally, with a significant reduction by 2025. Orchid will do this by:
As a visual artist who has spent many years in the wilderness working with positive images around sacred female sexuality it is great to see these issues finally getting the coverage they deserve. As long as we remain silent and look the other way nothing will change. It doesn’t matter what you call it as long as you shout it loud!
This procedure completely changes the perception of yourself. You feel a fraud as though you are less than a woman. It destroys your self confidence your self esteem. Because it is hidden and the effects can not be seen, the rest of the world can easily turn a blind eye to it.
Fortuneately for me my labia was removed and stitched together to remove cancer by a proficient medical team and having lived with this for 6 years now I have to say that even though it saved my life I still have all the feelings of self doubt, low self esteem, feeling less than a female.
So Please world listen to the struggle of these woman fighting to stop Female Genital Cutting. This shuld be a last resort not an accepted every day practice
Love and Peace to You All