Equality Now Press Release

African Activists Call for Use of Law and Greater Role of Men in the Campaign to End Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)
African Immigrant Communities Come Together to Launch Anti-FGM Initiative in Metro Atlanta

Equality Now ended its four-day meeting on FGM at a press conference hosted by Senator Nadine Thomas to announce her sponsorship of a law against FGM in the state of Georgia. Scheduled originally to take place in Nairobi, Kenya, Equality Now moved its international meeting of African activists to Atlanta, after the arrest there of Khalid Adem, who was charged in April 2003 in the first known documented case of FGM in the US.

Since Friday, activists from 9 African countries (Eritrea, Ethiopia, The Gambia, Guinea, Kenya, Mali, Senegal, Somalia, Tanzania) have been meeting in Atlanta to exchange ideas and to strategize collectively on how best to work for the eradication of FGM. The African activists met with local organizers in African immigrant communities in Georgia to talk about effective strategies for outreach to end the underground practice. Strong support was expressed for the introduction of a state law in Georgia. Sixteen other states already have such laws, and a federal law against FGM was passed in 1996. The meeting highlighted the critical need for community outreach and education in conjunction with the introduction of a law against FGM. Participants urged that this component be included in the bill, and that the necessary resources be allocated to ensure that the goal of ending FGM is achieved.

The meeting participants shared stories of progress in Africa, and among the themes that emerged from the meeting was the importance of laws against FGM. In recent years, the adoption of laws against FGM by African countries has accelerated dramatically. Half of the 28 African countries where FGM is practiced have laws prohibiting the practice. The meeting also underscored the need to involve men in the campaign against FGM. Of the eleven African experts who participated in the meeting, five were men. “FGM is not only a women’s issue. It’s a human rights issue that needs the attention of the entire community,” said Taina Bien-Aimé, Executive Director of Equality Now.

FGM is a harmful traditional practice that affects an estimated 130 million women around the world causing lifelong physical and psychological harm. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimated in 1997 that over 168,000 girls and women living in the United States either were subjected to or are at risk of being subjected to FGM in practicing immigrant African communities in the U.S. in states including Georgia.

Equality Now is an international human rights organization that works to protect and promote the civil, political, economic and social rights of girls and women. For more information on FGM or the work of Equality Now, go to www.equalitynow.org.

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