Progresses and Constraints in the Fight Against Female Genital Mutilation in Africa

1. Progresses and Constraints in the Fight Against Female Genital Mutilation in Africa African Women's Rights Observatory UNECA Meaza Ashenafi Mashenafi @uneca.org International Conference on FGM in the EU Brussels, Belgium • April 15-17, 2009

2. Content • Background • Standards, Principles and Laws • Legal Gaps • Violence Against Women as a Human Rights Violation • Recommendations

3. Background • Definition: FGM refers to all procedures of total or partial removal of or injury to the external female genital organ for non-medical reasons • Types of FGM (WHO modified typology, 2007): Type I: Partial or total removal of the clitoris and /or the prepuce (Clitoridectomy) Type II: Partial or total removal of the clitoris and the labia minora, with or without excision of the labia majora (excision) Type III: Narrowing of the vaginal orifice with creation of a covering seal by cutting and appositioning the labia minora and/or the labia majora, with or without excision of the clitoris (Infibulation) Type IV: Unclassified; all other harmful procedures to the female genitalia for non-medical purposes for example, pricking, piercing, incising, scraping and cauterization • Prevalence: • Occurs in all parts of the world • Most prevalent in Western, Eastern and North-eastern Africa • 100-140 million girls and women in the world are estimated to have undergone the procedure ; 3 million girls are estimated to be at risk ever year

4. Continued • Age: Mostly children under 18 • Mali, Mauritania and Ethiopia: 50% on children under 5 • Egypt: 90% between 5 - 14 years old • Harm (WHO study in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Sudan and Senegal): • Survivors suffer postmortem hemorrhage • Survivors face greater risk of requiring caesarean section, episiotomy and extended hospital stay • Infants of survivors of the more extreme forms of FGM (Types II and III) face increased risk of dying at birth

5. Continued • Progress: • Governments, International organizations and CSOs are more actively engaged in defining standards • However change is painfully slow • In high incidence countries such as Egypt, Sudan, Mali, Gambia, Guinea, Djibouti decline in prevalence rate is quite low • Data: Date on prevalence rates based on estimates derived from local and sub-national studies is available for 28 African countries (WHO 2007 - See annex)

6. Standards, Principles and Laws • Several international conventions and declarations prohibit discrimination against women and violence against women including Harmful Traditional Practices (HTP) • culture and tradition cannot be used as a pretext to continue HTPs • governments need to take all necessary actions including administrative and legislative measures • Article 5 of the Additional Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights (The African Women’s Protocol) was the first international convention to name and prohibit FGM • ratified by 26 African countries • signed by 45 African countries • FGM has been criminalized in 16 of 28 practicing African countries - mostly thorough amending criminal laws but also by enacting independent legislation devoted to FGM

7. Gaps in Anti-FGM Laws • Usually no grace period between enactment and enforcement in African countries (unlike in the USA and some of Europe) • Kenyan, Ugandan, Tanzanian and Egyptian laws only protect children under 18 though FGM is sometimes practiced after 18 to symbolize the rite of passage to womanhood (It is assumed that girls over 18 are able to exercise free and full consent) • Moderate penalty might increase enforceability (5-10 years imprisonment as in Ghana is a relatively high penalty)

8. Violence Against Women (VAW) as a Human Rights Violation • Some countries such as Burkina Faso and Ghana are making efforts to enforce laws: • Burkina Faso has convicted 94 FGM cases since adoption of the 1997 law banning FGM • Judges in Burkina Faso have used discretion to mitigate the impact of penalizing family members in cases where they are accomplices to the crime by punishing only one member and suspending penalty against the most essential member to sustain the family • Of the various public awareness and community mobilization strategies used to fight FGM, the human rights approach which emphasizes the use of international and national laws to protect victims is the least utilized • Law enforcement must complement time and resource-intensive public awareness and community mobilization for sustainability • Most importantly the universality and non-violability of human rights for all must be reaffirmed

9. Recommendations • Laws: All African countries where FGM is practiced should enact anti-FGM laws. Extensive consultations taking into account the gaps identified in already existing national laws should precede adoption of new laws. • Enforcement: The human rights approach is crucial in the fight against FGM; law enforcement should be a key tool in accordance with the 2003 Cairo Declaration for the Elimination of FGM. • Europe: European countries have provided crucial support to Africa at both multilateral and bilateral levels and by supporting activities of civil society organizations. Existing movements to eliminate FGM in Europe among migrant communities should be linked with current efforts in Africa.

10. Continued • External factors: All stake holders concerned with issues of women's rights in general and FGM in particular should reflect on how to reposition their strategies in light of the current global financial and environmental crises. Women's issues should not be neglected in resource allocation and political visibility. • Leadership: Young and new activists should be nurtured and empowered to become more visible to ensure continuity of the fight. • Advocacy: remains crucial – “ a child who does not cry will die on her mother’s back”. Thank you