Ban Ki-moon: FGM a 'human rights violation' that must end

UN secretary general says 'practice must cease' and backs Guardian campaign to end female genital mutilation in the US

theguardian.com, Amanda Holpuch in New York, Monday 12 May 2014

Jaha Dukureh, from Atlanta, is leading the campaign to end FGM
in the US. Photograph: Mae Ryan/The Guardian

The United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, on Monday described the practice of female genital mutilation as a “human rights violation” that needed to end, on the day the Guardian threw its weight behind a campaign against the practice in the US.

Jaha Dukureh, a 24-year-old American who was mutilated as a child, is leading the campaign to end FGM in the US with a Change.org petition urging the Obama administration to commission a report into how many women are affected and at risk today.

Dukureh launched the campaign at the Guardian’s New York office with UN representative Nafissatou Diop, US congressman Joe Crowley and Guardian editor-in-chief Alan Rusbridger.

“I know it's hard to believe, but a lot of girls in New York, in Atlanta and throughout America have been through FGM, and even though our storylines might differ, the pain, trauma and horror are the same for every single one of us,” Dukureh said.

Dukureh, a mother of three who lives in Atlanta, was mutilated at a week old in Gambia, where she was born. Later, as a child bride, she endured the practice of "reopening", in New York, where she moved when she was 15.

The US government outlawed FGM in 1996, but at least 228,000 women in the US are thought to be affected, according to research from Brigham and Women’s hospital in Boston.

“At times, I feel like the government is afraid to address FGM because they fear dealing with our African cultures,” Dukureh said. “I say: history has taught us to do away with harmful cultures and traditions. Slavery was a culture in America for over 300 years. If culture is harmful and if culture triggers human rights violations, then that piece of the culture must go. I am a proud African woman from this culture, and I say not one single ounce of good comes of mutilating girls.”

Ban Ki-moon endorsed the campaign, and sent Diop, of the UN’s United National Population (UNFPA) and Unicef joint program on FGM, to the camapign's launch.

“This is a serious health and human rights issue,” said Diop, speaking on behalf of Ban. “The effects include depression, insecurity, pain, infections, incontinence and deadly complication in pregnancy and childbirth. While some may say FGM is a tradition, it constitutes a human rights violation that must cease.”

The UN’s program is aimed at helping those communities that practice FGM to abandon it. “These agencies have adopted a human rights-based approach to encourage communities to act collectively, so that girls or their families who opt out do not jeopardize their marriage prospects or become social outcasts,” Diop said.

Rusbridger said he was hopeful about the campaign’s success in the US because of the Guardian’s experience in the UK, where Fahma Mohammed, a young British activist, spearheaded a campaign that led education secretary Michael Gove to write to all schools in England and Wales, warning teachers about the dangers of FGM.

"I think the hope of everybody involved in this field is that it is possible to eradicate this, and that there is the real, tangible hope of improving the health, expectations and happiness of million girls and women in more than 30 countries where this problem affects so many lives,” Rusbridger said.

Crowley, the Democratic congressman for New York’s 14th district, also spoke at Monday’s event, where he said he is looking to emulate the work done in the UK.

Crowley is circulating a letter around Congress, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Education, and the State Department, calling for greater awareness among professionals who might come into contact with FGM victims.

Ban Ki-moon and Fahma Mohamed. Photograph: Irene Baqué for Guardian

Related Articles:

Ban Ki-moon puts UN weight behind Guardian-backed FGM campaign

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Malala Yousafzai with the anti-FGM campaigner Muna Hasan.
Photograph: David Levene

Kryon Q&A

Question: Dear and beloved Kryon: What should we know about "Brit-Mila" (Jewish circumcision)?

Answer: All circumcision was based on commonsense health issues of the day, which manifested itself in religious-based teaching. That basically is what made people keep doing it. This eighth-day-from-birth ritual is no more religious today than trimming your fingernails (except that Brit-Mila is only done once, and it hurts a bit more).

It's time to start seeing these things for what they are. Common sense is not static. It's dynamic, and related to the culture of the time. Yesterday's common sense about health changed greatly with the discovery of germs. It changed again with practices of cleanliness due to the discovery of germs, and so on. Therefore, we would say that it really doesn't make a lot of difference in today's health practices. It's done almost totally for cultural historic and traditional purposes and holds no energy around it other than the obvious intent of the tradition.

This is also true for a great deal of the admonishments of the Old Testament regarding food and cleanliness, and even the rules of the neighborhood (such as taking your neighbor's life if he steals your goat, or selling your daughter in slavery if you really need the money... all found in scripture). The times are gone where these things matter anymore, yet they're still treated with reverence and even practiced religiously in some places. They're now only relics of tradition, and that's all. If you feel that you should honor a tradition, then do it. If not, then don't. It's not a spiritual or health issue any longer.

Be the boss of your own body and your own traditions. Follow what your spiritual intuition tells you is appropriate for your own spiritual path and health.