24 November 2015 - NPWJ News Digest on FGM and Women's Rights

NPWJ in the news

Gambia: NPWJ And NRPTT Welcome The Proclamation Of A Ban On FGM By President Jammeh
Freedom Newspaper (Gambia), 24 Nov 2015


Statement by Alvilda Jablonko, Director for Gender and Human Rights, No Peace Without Justice: “No Peace Without Justice (NPWJ) and the Nonviolent Radical Party, Transnational and Transparty (NRPTT) welcome the public proclamation of a ban on female genital mutilation (FGM) by President Yahya Jammeh which demonstrates the political commitment at the highest level to tackle FGM and protect the rights of women and girls in the Gambia. This public proclamation echoes the voices of the numerous communities which over the past eight years have publicly demonstrated their willingness to end FGM. It also reinforces the legitimacy and impact of the advocacy and awareness efforts carried out by civil society groups such as GAMCOTRAP under the tireless leadership of its president, Isatou Touray, to bring an end to this human rights violation. We stand side by side with Gambian activists in urging all members of the National Assembly to take action following President Jammeh’s declaration and adopt specific legislation criminalising FGM before the end of this year. As called for by the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 69/150, ‘enacting and enforcing legislation to prohibit FGM and to protect women and girls from this form of violence, and to hold perpetrators to account’ are fundamental and crucial factors to successfully combat this form of gender-based violence, promote its elimination and protect its victims”.

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Articles

Republicans think being pro-family means forcing women to have babies
By The Guardian, 23 Nov 2015

It’s not a surprise to me that in the race to win the Republican nomination, the candidates are working hard to find ways to win over women. Each has gushed on stage about their own mothers, or the importance of motherhood, and Marco Rubio made a point in the last debate to talk about the cost of child care. Issues at the top of mind for many women, like reproductive rights and equal pay, of course, will go mysteriously unmentioned. As the election looms, the Republican’s transparent efforts to appeal to women in the only way they know how will only intensify. As it does, I hope the Democrats will recognize the opportunity they have and call out the right on the shocking hypocrisy of claiming to be pro-women or pro-family while continuing their witch hunt against Planned Parenthood and efforts to stop women from obtaining legal abortions. Because the truth is that you cannot be pro-family without being pro-choice. The right to have an abortion is about bodily integrity, equality and, yes, family. There is nothing pro-family about forcing women to give birth; respecting families means respecting women’s life choices and ability to have a child if and when she wants to.

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For Colombia's Emberá, telling outsiders about FGM is worse than cutting girls
By The Guardian, 19 Nov 2015

By the standards of the Emberá, Colombia’s second largest indigenous group after the Wayuu, Karina is a fairly modern-minded woman. Having spent much of her childhood in Bogotá, the Colombian capital, she navigates big cities easily. She speaks relatively fluent Spanish in addition to her native tongue and, although she married at the usual age of 14, she’s on the pill, preferring not to have children until she’s older. But there’s one subject on which Karina, 17, is a staunch traditionalist. When she does have children, if she has a girl, the baby’s clitoris will be cut in the long-held tradition of the Emberá, the only ethnic group in Latin America known to practisefemale genital mutilation (FGM). FGM is widely known to be practised in 28 African countries and in parts of Asia and the Middle East. Known among the Emberá as curación, the origins of the practice in Colombia are the subject of various theories. One holds that it was adopted from African communities brought as slaves to the continent, and there is anecdotal evidence that some Afro-Colombian communities still practise it.

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Indian Surrogates Feel Hurt by Gov't Ban on Foreign Clients
By abc News, 18 Nov 2015

For thousands of childless couples the world over, India has been the go-to destination to fulfill their dreams of becoming parents, thanks to its well-trained doctors, well-appointed fertility clinics and vast numbers of poor women willing to serve as surrogate mothers. Not anymore.The Indian government recently banned surrogate services for foreigners and ordered fertility clinics to stop the practice of hiring Indian women to bear children for them. It's said to be intended to protect the women from exploitation, though some who have worked as surrogates say the ban actually hurts them. India was among the few countries in the world that allowed surrogacy — where a woman could be hired to carry the child of a couple through a process of in-vitro fertilization and embryo transfer. India's home ministry has ordered Indian embassies abroad not to grant visas to couples visiting the country for surrogacy, or "reproductive tourism" as the practice has come to be known.

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$1m awarded to groups working to empower girls and young women
By The Guardian, 17 Nov 2015

An organisation that promotes leadership in Pakistan, a network that helps girls and young women working in the sex industry in Hong Kong and a project that supports Palestinian refugees in the West Bank are among 20 groups from 19 countries awarded grants of up to $50,000 (£32,900) each on Monday. The grants, which totalled $1m, were awarded by the With and For Girls Collective, set up to support grassroots organisations working to promote the rights of girls and young women. A number of the grant winners were projects created by girls. The grants are not tied to specific programmes, which means grantees can decide how best to spend their money. Some 125 organisations were nominated for the inaugural awards, which were whittled down to a shortlist of 47. The 20 winners, which span five continents, are understood to work with more than 37,400 people. Grant winners include Aware Girls, which works in Peshawar, in north-west Pakistan. The organisation has set up girls’ power clubs to teach leadership skills, and also runs HIV and Aids discussion clubs. It has a helpline to support girls and women who have experienced abuse. During the 2013 general election, the organisation led a team of 100 young women to monitor voting, and in local elections this year three young women trained by Aware Girls won seats.

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