Burkina Faso’s Campaign Against Female Genital Mutilation Appears to Be Succeeding
Preliminary results suggest that Burkina Faso’s campaign against female genital mutilation may be succeeding, at least in some parts of the country, in ending the practice.
In 1992, when Burkina Faso launched its anti-FGM campaign, as many as two-thirds of all women there were subjected to female genital mutilation. Recent surveys from 6 of Burkina Faso’s 45 provinces finds that the rate of FGM in those provinces has fallen to just 1-2 percent. Survey results from the other 39 provinces are expected soon.
In 1996, Burkina Faso outlawed female genital mutilation and made it a crime punishable by up to three years in jail and up to a $1,500 fine. Anyone who inflicts wounds during an FGM ritual that leads to death can be jailed for up to 10 years.
United Nations Wire quotes Hortense Palm, permanent secretary of the National Committee to Combat the Practice of Circumcision, as saying,
After 12 years of intense lobbying, sensitization and training we are seeing a big reduction in numbers undergoing FGM. The figures speak for themselves.
Source:
Genital mutilation in Burkina Faso down after 12-year campaign. UN Wire, January 16, 2004.
The Burkina Faso’s Campaign Against Female Genital Mutilation Appears to Be Succeeding by Brian Carnell, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License.
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