Human Rights Watch just published a book about the
global fight for Women’s Rights: The Unfinished
Revolution.
See Related Links
April 19, 2012
Dear Friends and Supporters,
We are glad to update you with some good news:
After Pana and Wadi published a
press
release about FGM in the Kirkuk
region not even 24 hours later Ashwaq al-Jaff, a
member of the human rights committee in the Iraqi
Council of Representative
reacted and said:
"It got our attention as it detected figures that
must be combated. Therefore we have included this
issue on the agenda of the human rights committee"
"Our commission has a lot of important files and I
don't hide a secret that the issue of female
circumcision across Iraq, including the Kurdistan
Region, has got the attention of human rights
organizations and international personalities."
The MP called for a close co-operation between the
authorities in Baghdad and the Kurdistan Region to
effectively combat this practice throughout Iraq.
We are also glad to share some more positive
reactionsabout our campaign with you:
The Dutch MP Han ten Broeke member of the Liberal
party recently called the Campaign against FGM in
Kurdistan an example for a "best
practice" project:
In a statement Ten Broeke stressed that the
organisation’s holistic approach is a proven success
in fighting FGM, also known as female circumcision.
Furthermore, he mentioned recent results of the
campaign in Kirkuk and suggested to extend the
program of Wadi further into the Arab region. Wadi
has received funding from the Dutch government and
is a partner of Hivos, a Dutch development
organization. Currently both NGOs are working.
And Human Rights Watch just published a book about
the global fight for Women’s Rights:
The Unfinished Revolution.
One chapter is dealing with Female Genital
Mutilation and the attempts to ban this practice.
Nadya Khalifa, who conducted a research about FGM in
Kurdistan, writes about the StopFGMKurdistan
campaign and the reactions of the authorities, which
she considers a positive example for other countries
too:
The Kurdistan parliament’s adoption in June 2011 of
a family violence bill, including two provisions on
FGM, constituted another major milestone on the road
to ending FGM. (…) For me , this was a deeply
satisfying moment, as I recalled the harrowing
testimonies of women and girls I interviewed in the
course of my research.
What this teaches us is that FGM eradication efforts
require a multifaced approach – one that works with
numerous key actors at the same time, including
victims, their families, religious leaders, health
care professionals, teachers and community leaders.
Debate and discussions are essential to encourage a
community affirmation to stop the mutilation of
girls. In every country where FGM exists, government
authorities can follow the example of Iraqi
Kurdistan and make a public commitment by sending
out a clear message that this harmful practice has
no place in their society.
The White Group is composed of various civil
society organizations, civil society activists,
journalists and artists.
Wadi e.V. - Association for Crisis Assistance
and Development Co-operation
Herborner Str. 62
D-60439 Frankfurt am Main / Germany
Phone: +49-69-57002440
Email: info@wadinet.de
Web:
www.wadi-online.de
Wadi Office Sulaimaniyah/Northern Iraq Phone:
+964-7701588173
Pana Kirkuk Phone: +964-7701512007
Stop FGM Kurdistan
www.stopfgmkurdistan.org
Published with cooperation with ekurd.net
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author or news agency,
wadi-online.de
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