Workshop on FGM

Date: 10th February 2007
Two-days symposium on the importance of the youth in the campaign against the female genital mutilation (FGM) that is harmful traditional practices in Somalia held at our center in Mogadishu, Via Aden Ade, Hawl-wadag district from 4th – 5th February 2007. This privileged program funded by Inter-African Committee (IAC) on traditional practices and executed by SSWC-NC, a partner Somali Organization.

In this session, thirty-five participants from Somali youth consisted of women groups, youth, policy makers, opinion leaders, celebrities/artists, media and the public assembled from various locations attended it.

Quranic verses had been recited in the opening ocassion. Mrs. Hindi Ahmed Farah acting chairlady as well as board member delivered a short speech. At first, she thanked for the participants appreciating for their punctuality which indicates their enthusiasm of the subject and said “this campaign against the harmful traditional practices which unique circumstance, bad actions from our society should be eliminated as soon as possible.”

An experienced health worker Drs. Faduma Hassan Dirshe took the role and described the dangerous steps as well as heath hazards about FGM. She widely exposed how Somali women practice the female circumcision and pointed that criminal deeds are totally out of human rights and Islamic sharia laws, as well as medical health appliances. In continuation of her clarification Mrs. Faduma said “this issue at stake should appeal to the Somali people and in contrast the recent advances at science and technology pushed the frontiers of ignorance far away and left no excuse to be hidden behind the curtains of obsolete beliefs and old mysteries based on harmful practices. Mrs. Faduma left the stage pass on good wishes to participants for this precious chance and deeply advised the present youth to get rid of the risks behind the FGM.

An active medical nurse Miss Anab told that this problem has been historically besides women from the day of circumcision till their death. During that period, girls usually come across immediate complications including: severe pain, urine retention, abcesses, keloid scar formation, vulnerable to HIV/AIDS, hemorrhage which causes death, damage to the urethra resulting in urinary incontinence as well as difficulties with child birth.

The secretary of SSWC, Mr.Ibrahim Abdirisak participated second regional youth forum held at Addis-Abba from 21st to 25th November 2006. He provided good acknowledgements on the tragedies of the FGM. He conveyed in a summary manner some of the main points of what he learned from the youth forum. He affirmed that IAC is in a position to create a society that is free from the FGM practices in Africa, so it is inevitable to promote such ideas and operations to pave the way for the future eradication of the challenges.

He pointed out the ultimate responsibility upon the Somali youth, women groups, civil society institutions, policy makers, religious clerics, traditional elders, FGM practitioners and all parents as a whole to stop the inhuman practices of the FGM in order to save guard its hazards towards health.

In mainstreaming of the subject and said “it doesn’t necessarily mean to discuss about the problem and leave as it was, but above all it is the right time to publicly expose and practically create awareness on the devastating consequences and to realize its eradication”.

From that point of view, the participants in their turn, most of them memorized events of this violence, include the harmful traditional practices which negatively affect the fundamental rights of female gender in the aspects of their right to life, health, dignity and physical integrity.
After math, the participants were divided into four groups, each group to discuss about a given topics which were:-
1) What compelled the Somali Women to practice FGM?
2) Haw FGM (whether partial or complete) affect the Somali female youth?
3) What is the position of FGM in the Islamic Sharia?
4) Haw can we avoid the Somali Women who practically formulate the FGM.

The achievements of participant’s opinion summarized as follows:-
? To eliminate this old traditional practice, the best path to follow is to apply the human rights laws and Islamic Sharia which our society can easily assimilate.
? The most appropriate to select as a tool which is likely to inform the intended audience are presumably Press, Radio, TVs and Drama framing systems.
? To influence the Traditional Federal National Assembly to pass legislation prohibiting this practice as well as the elimination of all forms of violence against women.
? To encourage the Somali Youth couples to stand against the advancements of all sorts of FGM.

Youth at the Center of Action appealed to elongate such symposium as well as broaden mutual trainings on this matter, the participants established youth committee who voluntarily committed to fulfill the campaign against the elimination of FGM and any other sorts women violations and their names are:-

Some of the participants performed a drama, explaining the ways of practicing such violence as well as indicating its total damage to the over all life expectancy of the Somali female in the festival on the International Day on Zero Tolerance to FGM of 6th February 2007. In addition to that, we invited a famous Somali poet, Mr. Abdi-nor Haji to express his filling in the occasion. He addressed and discouraged social problems of FGM practice in Somalia in three different poems. The full exert of three poems are as follows.

1. Stop Female Genital mutilation. “Stop FGM, Please Stop it now”
Legs pulled apart
Knife went straight
Into my private parts
It cut across painfully
Cruel hands stitched me
Infibulated me ruthlessly
Blood drained in the summer heat
Disappeared into the waiting sand
Leaving me potentially impaired
Denying me to be a total woman

2. Hazards of FGM

Female genital mutilation is a crime and should be eradicated from the face of the earth. We need our women to be total women

With African beads dangling from her neck
The little girl's head is cleanly shaven
At a tender age of only five years
Mariam's private parts were mutilated
Stitched and infibulated with a silk
A small opening is left for urination
A grain of sorghum shouldn't pass through
As otherwise the fgm job was unsuccessful
Mariam walks with the aid of a stick
To avoid the opening from getting wider
Her two legs are tied together with a rope
As movements are very much restricted
They call this sinister act a rite of passage
But it is the gateway to torture and pain

3. The Sounds of Misery
I am taking part in a campaign against Female Genital Mutilation being carried out in Somalia by civil society organizations. I write this poem to raise my voice against the evils and wide spread atrocities being inflicted upon the lives of our daughters in Africa

With a knife Amina got circumcised
She was stitched and infibulated
Drugs not administered to kill pain
Hearts had shown her no mercy
Hands were so cruel in their action
They cut more to let her cry more
Unconscious and bleedig Amina died
What a painful exit!
Bells of injustice only make sounds of misery
FGM is a crime. Stop it please. Stop it now