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  • by Lorenzo Colantoni and Riccardo Venturi.
    Directed by Equipop
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  • On the 3rd of December 2016, more than 800 Malians met for a ceremony in the village of Sabouciré N’di, in the province of Kayes, to celebrate the abandonment by 41 villages of female genital mutilation. This happened in a region where almost 95% of women aged 15 to 49 have been cut, and where the majority of the population still supports the practice.
    It took years of work to reach this result.
    Through the project “Protéger la Prochaine Génération”, animators reached isolated villages to inform of the health issues caused by the practice, offering fundamental medical assistance. They also sensitized the communities on gender’s issues and the violation of women’s rights by the practice of FGM. At the moment, 138 villages in the area have decided to go against the dominant opinion in Mali, and publicly engage against female mutilation.
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    The path
    to abandoning
    Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)
    Migrant people have a strong influence on decision taking in their villages of origin. Therefore, it is a critical aspect of the project to make the diaspora supporting the FGM abandonment process. Within the project, Migrants and villagers can openly discuss about FGM and related issues through radio programs, recording of testimonies and travels to Mali. Involving migrant people is key to consolidate the abandonment of FGM both in Africa and in Europe.
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  • 01/20
    One of the villages which abandoned female genital mutilation 2016
  • Women bringing food for the dinner before the ceremony
    02/20
  • A girl in the village of Sabouciré N’di
    03/20
  • Young girls dancing to welcome the participants to the ceremony
    04/20
  • The chief and an elder of the village which hosted and sponsored the ceremony
    05/20
  • Women going back from late night dancing before the event
    06/20
  • Sada Coulibaly, who lost two daughters because of the mutilation
    07/20
  • Coumba Kante, a traditional cutter from a village which has not yet abandoned the practice
    08/20
  • A man, holding his two daughters who almost died because of the mutilation
    09/20
  • Cooking couscous on the night before the ceremony
    10/20
  • A young boy serving coffee to the elders on the day of the event
    11/20
  • Kids from the village of Sabouciré N’di
    12/20
  • Women preparing spicy chili pepper sauce
    13/20
  • An elder from a village, which is now on its way to abandon female genital mutilation
    14/20
  • A griot, a role similar to a storyteller and a mediator, often involved in spreading awareness against FGM
    15/20
  • Young people from different villages
    before the ceremony
    16/20
  • A field coordinator from AMSOPT and a villager dancing on the day before the ceremony
    17/20
  • A young woman sheltering his son from the sun on the day of the ceremony
    18/20
  • Two women dress their hair
    on the village of the ceremony
    19/20
  • A young boy wash himself
    in the river Senegal, ner Kayes
    20/20
  • Guilty
    of nothing
    Mali is one of the countries of FGM in the world:
    In the region of Kayes the percentage is the greatest: 94.7% of females aged 15-49 have been cut.
    Prevalence rates of FGM
    in 3 countries:
    24.7%
    Senegal
    71.3%
    Mauritania
    91.4%
    MALI
    source
    Unicef (2013)
    Fgm is cause of frequent health issues among all women who have undergone FGM:
    14.9%
    suffers from excessive bleeding
    13.7%
    from urinary retention
    27.8 %
    from at least one health complication
    11.9%
    from at least two
    at least 200 maternal death a year in Mali are caused by FGM.
    source
    Unicef (2006)
  • Sada
    Coulibaly
    FGM witness
    Many village elders joined the event and were hosted by a house built by Malian emigrants in France. Several travels from village to village to raise awareness against female genital mutilation.
  • The
    Practice
    99%
    of mutilation is
    done by traditional cutters in Mali
    74.2%
    of women still
    believe the practice
    should continue
    Each mutilation is usually paid to the cutter 1000/3000 CFA (2-5 euros)
    source
    EU Commission (2011)
  • Coumba Kante
    Traditional cutter
    The abandonment ceremony was anticipated by a day and a night of playing music and dancing, to which all young people participated, yet having to leave the floor also to older women and men from time to time.
  • Not
    a matter
    of religion
    95.3%
    of Muslim
    women are cut
    77.8%
    of Christian
    women are cut
    source
    PNLE (2014)
  • Dijibril Sidibé
    Imam
    The presidents of the villages’ women, the female equivalent of a village chief, played a key role in the abandonment process, as women, rather than men, mostly oppose leaving the practice.
  • The way
    we change
    73.2%
    Mothers
    in Mali think their daughters should be cut
    86.4%
    Fathers
    in Mali think their daughters should be cut
    71%
    Women and Men
    aged 15-49 in Mali does not know of health complications due to the mutilation
    The age of cutting has decreased:
    women cut before 5 years old has passed from around 60% for people born 50 years ago, to almost 80% for those born 20 years ago, while almost all women are cut before five nowadays
    source
    PNLE (2014)
  • President of the
    women's group
    Adama Diarra
    As many women sewed new clothes for the ceremony from the same fabric for all who belonged to their community, people from different villages could be recognised by the pattern they chose.
  • People travelled to Sabouciré N’di from remote villages in several different ways: vans, mopeds, bikes ridden through the savanna. Most of them came by foot, walking for hours or even days.
    Whoever joined Sabouciré N’di for the event, either on the night before or the morning of the ceremony, was welcomed in the same way: by restless dancing and music.
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