Building a Network of Human Rights Supporters

Tuesday 12 November 2013

On October 9th in the Fouta region of Senegal, over 25 local authority representatives, religious leaders, and members of local associations joined Tostan team members in the community of Kanel for an awareness-raising seminar on human rights and the growing movement to abandon female genital cutting (FGC). Funded by Orchid Project, this event aimed to inform the local authorities and leaders about Tostan’s programs in the region, specifically focusing on FGC social mobilization activities, and to create a continuing dialogue around the movement. In a conservative region such as the Fouta, it is important to include these groups and individuals in the conversation about FGC abandonment because they play a key role in raising awareness in their communities about the dangers of this practice.

Marcel Thiaw, the prefect of Kanel, gave the event’s opening statements and then Ibrahima Boly, Assistant Coordinator of Tostan Fouta, presented on Tostan’s work. Boly provided a detailed description of Tostan’s three-year, human rights-based Community Empowerment Program (CEP) and explained how the program, along with social mobilization activities, provides information on health and human rights to communities, empowering them to decide for themselves to abandon harmful practices.

He emphasized the importance of community-led awareness-raising campaigns, which often lead to large numbers of communities publicly declaring their abandonment of FGC. Boly also compared the abandonment of FGC in Senegal to that of foot-binding in China, providing a specific example of how the transformation of social norms can be accomplished in one generation.

Group discussion

After the presentation, the floor opened to a rich discussion on how Tostan’s social mobilization activities can be further expanded to reach additional villages, as well as the challenges that exist in working in a conservative region such as the Fouta. On this topic the prefect of Kanel counseled, “The task is difficult, but we must have patience and courage to abandon this traditional practice.” Abandoning the practice of FGC has been a highly debated topic by religious leaders throughout Senegal, where many people mistakenly believe that the practice is a requirement of Islam. However, Thierno Hamidou Wade, the grand marabout of Kanel, expressed a strong desire for Tostan to continue raising awareness throughout the region.

He stated, “We need to continue to reflect and see how we can strategically find a solution to the question of FGC. We must understand that it is very difficult for communities to abandon FGC because it is a part of the values of their traditional society. The practice is criticized for its dangers, it’s true, but we must continue to raise awareness. I ask the state and other NGOs to be patient because the issue of FGC is seen by many to be a part of their religion. But, if we continue to raise awareness, we will find a solution to this issue.”

The discussion continued with eight other representatives expressing their concerns and thoughts on the subject. They agreed that the seminar’s topic was very important for the wellbeing of the members of their communities, and they were grateful to learn more about the implementation of the social mobilization activities. Several participants described the lack of information provided to community members as a factor in the continuation of the practice and all encouraged Tostan to increase social mobilization activities throughout the region in order to meet this need.

Story by Meredith Schlussel, Tostan.

 

This blog is part of a series on the Social Mobilisation project that Orchid Project funds in support of Tostan’s long term Community Empowerment Programme. Social Mobilisation is focused on ensuring the acceleration of abandonment of FGC in Senegal. Teams of volunteers who have already abandoned FGC, called social mobilisation agents, visit and create dialogue with inter-connected communities on human rights and the negative consequences of FGC. Their work aims to spread the message of abandonment and encourage others to join them.

Social mobilisation agents are individual members of the community who have been inspired by their understanding that FGC is a harmful practices, and are eager to share their own experiences with others. Often, they are religious, traditional or community leaders who are widely respected and well-connected, active, influential participants.

You can find out more about Social Mobilisation by clicking here. If you would like to support this work, please click here