AWC Going Dutch Jan Feb 2021

FAWCO (cont.)
Continued from page 23
of 12 and nearly bled to death at her cutting
ceremony. Even before working with TDT,
Rhobi played a tremendous role in sparking
local change. She spent years courageously
leading a team of actors, singers and dancers
to educate and change attitudes towards FGM
in villages. It must be emphasized how much
personal courage and strong will it takes to
approach local communities where FGM is
considered a norm and encouraged, especially
by men. Rhobi has organized roadshows
in high risk areas during the cutting season to
demonstrate the health risks that accompany
cutting to crowds of the men enforcing this
tradition. This has put her at risk, exposing
her to a hostile response, as she is challenging
a tradition that is systematically ingrained
in these communities. Additionally, Rhobi
has established a team protected by the local
police that help at-risk girls escape from
their cutting ceremonies, taking them to a
safe house where they are cared for until the
cutting season is over. The first safe house,
established in Mugumu in the Mara region,
received roughly £165,000 in donations allowing
Rhobi and her team to protect 329
girls within three years.
In order to put an end to FGM once and for
all, it is crucial that the inherent patriarchal
mindset from which this tradition stems is
eliminated. The only way to do this is to educate
boys and men of the negative effects of
FGM from an early age instead of teaching
girls to fit society’s standards. With the help
of the government and financial aid from
TDT, the re-education of boys and men in
pro-FGM communities has sparked into action.
This is significant in the fight against
FGM because of the prominent role men
have played in controlling the female body.
This re-education campaign also paves the
path for future generations of men and women
because they are less likely to impose FGM
on their children after having been educated
about its negative consequences. Provided
this re-education campaign continues, this
tradition will be extinguished over time. To
speed up the
process, however,
it is important
to actively
address
this issue and
fund organizations
like TDT
to help change
attitudes towards
FGM.
Most importantly,
issues
surrounding Gender Based Violence (GBV)
should be addressed directly rather than euphemized
or worse, ignored.
FGM isn’t just prevalent in Tanzania.
Classified as an act of GBV, FGM is practiced
around the world. Studies have revealed
that an estimated 200 million women
and girls that are alive today have undergone
FGM, most before the age of 15. Due to increased
migration, increased numbers of girls
and women who live away from their home
countries have reportedly undergone (or are
at risk of) FGM in Europe, Australia and
North America. In order to promote the UN’s
Sustainable Development Goal #5: Gender
Equality and Women’s Empowerment, we
must ensure that FGM is a practice that is outlawed
and stopped. With our Target Project
S.A.F.E, we hope to maximize our impact in
ending this demeaning and unjust practice.
The seeds of the African violet need to be
planted in its heartland. It cannot survive
wholly without its parts. In order to flourish
and blossom, the Saintpaulia needs to be
taken care of with love and support, without
which it won’t have the necessary nutrients
to survive, even when grown in its heartland.
Likewise, the parts of millions of women that
are being taken away from them leave them
broken. In order to prosper as women, they
need to be granted the basic human right,
their seeds, in order to have happy and fulfilling
lives. Let’s plant their seeds back where
they belong.
24 GOING DUTCH
JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2021 25