Female Genital Mutilation Survivors in Media

This CSW parallel event- Female Genital Mutilation Survivors in Media- Pictures that Empower” was sponsored by the Female Integrity/ RISK Uppsala and co-sponsored by Swedish Women’s Lobby. The session began with the introduction of Farma who is a Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) survivor originally from Ethiopia. She started campaigning against FGM in 1995 and has dedicated her life to ensuring that this human rights violation is eradicated in many societies. FGM is one of the few violations done against women by women. This introduction was followed by the presentation of Dr. Bita Eshraghi who is an Obstetrician-Gynecologist in Stockholm, Sweden where she works with Amel, an outpatient clinic that provides medical and surgical treatment as well as psychological support for survivors of FGM.

During her presentation, Dr Eshraghi identified the countries where this practice was prevalent and the major countries affected are in Africa, some parts of Asia and the Middle East. Presently, there are 26 African countries who have banned FGM and this proves to be a win in the battle against FGM. Across the world, more than 200 million women have undergone FGM and 3 million girls are at risk, which translates to 1 girl every 11 seconds. During her presentation, she outlined the types of FGM, the age range when girls are subjected to this which is 0-12 years and the people who perform the act of circumcision. This led to a bigger issue of the medicalization of FGM in Egypt where health care professionals carry out this practice. The reasons for FGM vary among cultures and contexts but the common ones are cultural and social acceptance, marital fidelity, control of women’s sexuality, incorrect interpretation of religious texts and myths surrounding FGM that it is necessary to make a woman clean, modest, feminine and beautiful. Dr. Eshraghi ended her presentation by outlining the medical issues caused by FGM and urged the audience not to think of women and girls who have gone through FGM as victims but as survivors.

In conclusion of the session, there was a photojournalist who told her story of how she got survivors of FGM to allow her tell their stories through pictures in a way that empowered them. During her presentation, she went through several slides of strong women who had survived this violation and are living normal healthy lives and those who have taken it upon themselves to ensure that no other girl-child goes through this violation. She ended the session by introducing the audience to a great NGO- The Whole Flower whose work focuses on the inclusion of girls and fighting the practice of FGM in their community.