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| Efforts to Combat FGM - Selective list of International Forums |
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Advancing In Unity
Hargesia, Somaliland, 29th October - 2nd November 2002
Organised by BWHAFS
Funded by Save the Children (Sweden), UNICEF, International Corporation For Development, RAINBO (USA), individual donors and other organisations.
This forum was particularly targeted at the grassroots, to initiate discussion and galvanise support for the eradication of FGM by the women directly involved. Around 250 people attended. (link)
The European Network on Harmful Traditional Practices
Italy, May 2002
Follow up conference to the previous year, organised by GAMS.
The European Network on Harmful Traditional Practices
Paris, France 28th -30th March 2002
GAMS Europe, sponsored by the European Parliament hosted the conference, and thirty representatives were in attendance. Faduma Hassan represented BWHAFS.
Image: Nimo Ali, Management Committee Member of BWHAFS at an FGM conference in Italy
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'The conference reviewed FGM legislation in Europe. Participants were offered the opportunity to compare notes on good practice in FGM eradication, campaign and education'
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BWHAFS Newsletter Jan- March 2002
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Fourth International Symposium on Sexual Mutilations
Lausanne, Switzerland, 9th - 11th August 1996
Attended by BWHAFS
Amnesty International Women's Conference 1996
After attending this conference a spokesperson for BWHAFS said:
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'This was a very interesting conference which covered a lot of ground.The main point was that the campaign to eradicate FGM is losing its impetus, which is a major concern given the efforts that have gone into investigations and fund-raising to prevent the practice. The main reasons for prevention are that women die of infection, or even bleed to death unnecessarily and undergo terrible pain for this operation. It is a male-perpetuated myth that induces women to be circumcised and change can only be implemented through education and the right approach.'
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Change Without Denigration
30th June - 1st July 1994
Organised by BWHAFS (link)
First Seminar on 'Harmful Traditional Practices on Human Rights'
Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, April - May 1991
Organised by the United Nations Human Rights Commission
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 1990
Attended by BWHAFS
Female Circumcision: Strategies to Bring about Change
Mogadishu, Somalia, June 1988
Organised by the Somali Women's Democratic Organization (SWDO) and the Italian Association for Women in Development.
Nigeria, 24th -28th February 1986
Organised by the Inter-African Committee on Traditional Practices (IAC)
Conway Hall, London, 26th October 1985
The first London conference organised by BWHAFS was a resounding success! More than one hundred women attended, ninety per cent of whom were black. The conference highlighted five major health issues for black women: -
1) Racism in the NHS
2) Female circumcision
3) Elderly ethnic minorities
4) Black women and mental health
5) Sickle Cell Disease
Nairobi's Women's Conference
Nairobi University, Nairobi, Kenya, 9 - 19 July 1985
Organised by the UN to mark the end of the Decade for Women. It was expected that six thousand people would attend, but over fifteen thousand arrived.
Shamis Dirir attended as a representative for BWHAFS, and commented;
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'Many women were very critical of the "official" conference delegates and felt that previous UN women's conferences had been manipulated by men for their own political ends... I attended workshops on refugees, violence against women, disability, employment, racism in labour, women in prisons, health, education, migrant and refugee women, and I went each day to the peace centre to listen to women from all over the world.
There was much conflict between Arab and Israeli women and between lesbians and heterosexual women, and I'm pleased to say that an attempt by a few women to keep lesbians out failed. The discussions were sometimes strong, but rarely boring. I collected a lot of information and made so many contacts, which will prove very useful in the future
Every day the Kenyans arranged visits to Kenyan women's projects in the rural areas around Nairobi. Wherever you went there were speeches - women were involved in all kinds of workshops and displays, and political discussion dominated even within specific issues such as women in the media, in education, women's health and economic power. One of the recommendations of this workshop was that the Africa Committee of the UN should take up the issue of the abolition of female circumcision as a project. The approach would be to fight openly against the practice and to defend young girls. To begin with, it was advised that massive publicity be given to the fact that circumcision is not any part of Qu'ranic teaching.
I came away from the workshop convinced that:
1) the grassroots approach is best
2) we must work together throughout the UK, and share information on an international basis
3) we should organise a conference in October to bring together women from Africa with women here'
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BWHAFS Newsletter Nov 1985
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Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children'
Dakar, Senegal, 6-10 February 1984
Organised by the UN Working Group on Traditional Practices and financed WHO, UNICEF and international NGO's. Represented by 21 African nations both at governmental and non-governmental levels. This seminar resulted in the formation of the Inter-African Committee (IAC).
International Seminar of the Commission Internationale pour l'Abolition des Mutilations Sexuelles (CAMS)
Dakar, Senegal, 27-29 December 1982
A proposal was formed to establish a research and education centre for the abolition of FGM in Senegal
Fourth International Congress on Child Abuse and Neglect
Paris, France 7-10 September 1982
Three workshops were given on the subject of FGM
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