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