Africa Day and the United Nations Day for the Family in Birmingham, United Kingdom

S ome of the very real situations faced by African women and girls, and in particular the horrific practice of Female Genital Mutilation, were discussed in the most recent Women’s Peace Meeting, recognising the UN Day for the Family and Africa Day. Disturbing new statistics published by UNICEF show that at least Our first speaker, Tabassum, a registrar in women. She recommended substantially 200 million girls and women alive today obstetrics and gynaecology, described her increasing the level of education in this have undergone barbaric, ritual cutting, work in looking after pregnant women whole area for all medical professionals. with half of them living in just 3 countries, and the serious, often life-long, problems Our second speaker was Nura Ali Dhuhul, Indonesia, Egypt and Ethiopia. Somalia which FGM causes. She spoke about the executive director of the Allies Network, has the highest prevalence of women and predominance of the problem in Africa, and a voice for East African women in the girls who have been cut – 98% of the where cutting is widely regarded as a rite West Midlands. She said that FGM was female population between the ages of 15 of passage, especially by the elderly, such not at all a new thing for her, as everyone and 49. In Guinea, where the figure is that grandparents will often insist on the in her family had been mutilated.”If I 97%, a 5 year-old girl recently died from practice in spite of the parents’ objections. smile a lot it’s because I have become her injuries. And all of this happening in The severe physical and psychological used to this problem. I am still very spite of the fact that the practice was problems can persist from giving birth all compassionate towards FGM survivors.” officially banned in numerous countries the way into old age. In the UK, cutting is Agreeing with Tabassum, she echoed the many years ago. illegal and a form of abuse. When an importance of understanding African African woman presents herself as culture as a key factor in all of this. One hundred and twenty women gathered pregnant, and is expecting a girl, a safe- “Humans have difficulty supporting together at 123 Bournbrook Road to hear about, and discuss, this very emotive guarding notice often has to be raised. people from cultures which they know Tabassum mentioned that in the UK’s little about” she said. “There is very little topic, comprising our now familiar 35 to National Health Service many consultants ‘African’ in Birmingham Museum to 40 nationalities, and representing all cultural, racial and religious backgrounds. are white, middle class and do not fully educate people, and there are no ‘African understand the cultural background to this Studies’ for children in schools. Until there We have more and more young women problem, or have the knowledge and are changes, the problem will continue.” participating, which is very encouraging, and around twenty women attending were ability to deal in a constructive way with She suggested the need for actual the potential danger to girls and young workshops, rather than mere on-line coming to the meeting for the first time.

training - community workshops and individuals but has far-reaching helped to maintain the momentum of the workshops for professionals. “On-line consequences for relationships within the Women’s Peace Meeting, discussing training cannot tell you how to build family, often contributing to isolation, issues which affect all of us and then rapport with people, what questions to individuals being ostracised and resulting turning our heart of concern into some ask, and how to ask them. It’s such a in family breakdown. kind of action which can help others. sensitive issue.” The Allies Network tries Several women on this occasion also to deal with this, and there are other routes expressed the desire to become involved into the problem, such as the ‘West with the issue of FGM, and spoke to Nura Midlands FGM Task Force’ and afterwards to discuss ways in which they ‘Birmingham against FGM’. might help. In the discussions which followed, many points were made and questions asked from the floor. The themes of ‘raising awareness’, ‘cultural sensitivity’ and Pauline, our fourth speaker, described a ‘education of teachers and health care different project which she has been professionals’ were prominent. Our involved in recently, helping women, collective concern and emotional particularly widows, in West Africa. A engagement with the topic carried over chance conversation two years ago led her into the quiet time of reflection and to join an existing project, Shepherd Food prayer, and we had beautiful musical Hawa, a victim of FGM, could only speak Ministries, and travel to Nigeria to see if offerings from Paulina, Viola, Chitra and briefly such was her emotional pain, and she could use her skills in counselling to Maureen. the difficulty of describing the impact on her childhood, adolescence and adult life. support the initiative in some way. She All of this allowed us to conclude with an An impression of the pain inflicted on so accompanied a friend who was training overall positive feeling and outcome, in many girls and young women can be seen women in jewellery and bead-making, spite of the deeply emotional and painful in the short video at the following website: and found that she could make a valuable issue we had been sharing about together. www.theguardian.com/society/video/201 contribution through listening to the We finished the evening in our usual way, 6/feb/05/mummy-why-did-you-cut-me- women, learning of their struggles, and sharing food and refreshments, much of survivors-share-pain-fgm-video helping them with personal development which had been brought by the ladies skills. There had been plans in 2014 to themselves, and engaging in Hawa chose to express her heart and help 30 women, but 54 women turned up conversations which continued for some feelings by singing a Christian song, and to the programme. All of them were considerable time after the meeting had all could feel her suffering, empathising officially come to an end. Through all of somehow accommodated, and since then with someone whose life had been so money has been raised to open a the sharing, both during the meetings and severely affected by the whole trauma of Vocational Centre in the Anglican afterwards, we forge deep bonds of heart FGM. Through the sharing of our with one another, developing friendships Diocese of Osobjgbo. Pauline was soon to speakers, especially with this event depart for the official opening in July. which sustain us in what can be a very commemorating both Africa Day and the We made a collection after Pauline spoke difficult world. UN Day for the Family, it also became clear that the damage caused by FGM is and £250 was raised to help the project. not just limited to its impact on Practical outcomes such as this have