Ending Female Genital Cutting in Dialacoto, Senegal
A Celebration of Life and Culture
1, 140 communities have now abandoned FGC in Senegal, representing over 20% of the current practicing communities.
By Molly Melching, September 23, 2003
On September 21, 2003, 606 representatives from 202 villages in the three rural communities of Dialacoto, Netteboulou and Missirah, Region of Tambacounda, gathered in Dialacoto to publicly announce their communal decision to abandon the practices of FGC and early marriage forever. Dialacoto, a village located 8 hours from Dakar near Niokola Koba Park, worked to organize this declaration with the help of a local Pilot Committee over the past five months.
Although it rained in the morning, the skies cleared just in time for the event. Dancers, musicians and singers from the Fulani, Mandinka, Bassari, Tanda, Diahanké and Koniadjie ethnic groups from the participating villages
began the ceremony with a display of the rich cultural heritage of this southeastern region and celebrated with extraordinary joy, enthusiasm and determination. Villagers were surprised to see ancient and mystical
headdresses and costumes that had not been used for over 20 years as people whirled and danced to traditional instruments and drums. A group from the blacksmiths caste, including all of the local circumcisers, moved in a slow rythmic dance led by a white haired elder who mesmerized the audience with his piercing gaze. Women sang ancient circumcision songs but had rewritten the words in Mandinka: “We are abandoning a practice that has led to much suffering for girls and women. We will maintain our positive practices and say goodbye to those which do not lead to health and well-being thanks to our education program.” The class participants and Dialacoto youth organization presented plays on the harmful effects of FGC and early marriage. The highly respected Imam from Dialacoto stated that Islam condemns FGC because of potentially harmful health consequences and argued that it should be abandoned by all Muslims everywhere.
The declaration for the abandonment of Female Genital Cutting and early marriage that reflected the commitment of the men, women, children, religious leaders, village chiefs and circumcisers of the 202 villages was read by village women and girls in Mandinka, Fulani, Bassari and French. The villagers explained that their decision was made after participating in the Tostan education program in national languages with support from the Government of Senegal, Unicef and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Participants also thanked AJWS, the Wallace Research Foundation and the Rotary Millenium Club for their support for micro-credit projects and health improvement activities in the Region of Tambacounda. The three Presidents of the Rural Communities asked that new Tostan classes be opened in the many villages which have not yet benefited from the program.
Guests attending the declaration included the Vice President of and two deputies from the National Assembly of Senegal, the Governor of Tambacounda, the Representative of Unicef, the Director of Rotary Millenium Dakar, many local authorities, national and international press correspondents, the Director of Tostan and representatives from UNFPA, ASDI and Amnesty International. Large delegations of villagers from other regions of Senegal including Ziguinchor, Kolda, Kaolack, Thies, St. Louis and Matam attended, as well as a group of six Guineans participating in a Tostan training program funded by USAID Guinea.
Speakers congratulated the villagers on their positive decision and their commitment to the promotion of human rights and health. The Unicef Representative discussed the importance of the participation of all members of the community – the Imam, the Village Chief, the women’s groups and the youth groups in this noble movement towards the improvement of living conditions in the region. He emphasized the importance of providing basic
education and income generating activities for adolescent girls who will no longer be forced to marry at an early age and said that Unicef will continue to accompany the villagers in their quest for better living conditions and
health in the future. The Vice President of the National Assembly expressed her wish to see all villages of Senegal abandon the practice in this joyful way, rather than resorting to enforcement of the law passed in 1999 by the Senegalese Parliament. The Rotary Millenium Club Director offered 22 sewing machines, kits and training for the Tambacounda circumcisers to help them with an alternative means for earning money. A representative of the Guinea delegation congratulated the populations of Dialacoto and hoped that after the implementation of the Tostan program in Guinea, they would achieve the same results. The Governor of Tambacounda ended the ceremony with an inspiring speech which was followed by a communal lunch prepared for hundreds of guests.
The heavy rains began again as soon as everyone had arrived safely at their destination, leading people to comment that surely the heavens had approved of and had contributed to this historic declaration in Dialacoto, September 21, 2003.
To view BBC news story ‘Senegal Villages Reject FGM’ of Tuesday September 23, 2003 please go to
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3132350.stm