FGMC is any alteration of the female genitalia for non-medical reasons. For in-depth knowledge of types of FGMC, visit www.endcuttinggirls.com

 

  1. Today’s topic is creating awareness on legal provision for protecting and preventing FGM/C #endcuttinggirls @endcuttinggirls
  2. The act of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGMC/C) is considered internationally as a violent act against girls and women and a violation of their human rights #endcuttinggirls

 

  1. While FGM/C is not undertaken with the intention of inflicting harm, its damaging physical, sexual, and psychological effects #endcuttinggirls @endcuttinggirls

 

  1. …violates a number of human rights of women and girls #endcuttinggirls

 

  1. These make it an act of violence against women and children #endcuttinggirls

 

  1. Many governments in Africa and elsewhere have taken steps to eliminate the practice of FGMC/C in their countries to #endcuttinggirls

 

  1. These steps include laws criminalizing FGM/C, education and outreach programs to #endcuttinggirls

 

8… and the use of civil remedies and administrative regulations to prevent the practice of FGM/C and #endcuttinggirls.

 

  1. Eighteen countries—Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia #endcuttinggirls

 

10…Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, and Togo—have enacted laws criminalizing FGMC/C to #endcuttinggirls

11. Nigeria’s Bill on Elimination of Violence Against persons enacted into Law on June 4, 2015 #endcuttinggirls

12. The legislation contains provisions banning various forms of gender-based violence, including female genital mutilation/cutting #endcuttinggirls

13. The law criminalizes “harmful traditional practices,” a term defined broadly to include female genital mutilation and cutting. #endcuttinggirls @endcuttinggirls

14. This includes “all traditional behaviour, attitudes and/or practices, which negatively affect the fundamental rights of girls and women  #endcuttinggirls @endcuttinggirls

  1. An engagement of harmful traditional practices is on conviction, subject to a  punishment of 3years in prison or a fine of NGN100,000 #endcuttinggirls
  2. An attempt to commit any form of participation in the commission of the harmful traditional practices are  subject to a punishment of 1year in prison or a fine NGN20,000 #endcuttinggirls
  3. Anyone who personally carries out or engages another person to carry out FGM/C or will be punished by five years in prisonment or a maximum fine of NGN100,000 #endcuttinggirls
  4. In addition to this general ban on harmful traditional practices, the legislation expressly outlaws specific forms of the practice that does not exclude female genital mutilation/cutting #endcuttinggirls
  5. The Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women #endcuttinggirls

 

20… and Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa #endcuttinggirls

 

21…explicitly recognize that practices harmful to women such as FGM/C are violations of human rights #endcuttinggirls

 

  2. Parents who take their daughters abroad to undergo female circumcision will face up to 14 years in jail under new measures that have come into force #endcuttinggirls
  3. However, a group of medical students from around the world has taken positive steps toward increasing awareness about FGMC/C among medical students and young medical professionals as a part of a transnational project #endcuttinggirls
  4. The above project was endorsed by the International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations (IFMSA), which recently adopted a policy statement in March 2013 calling for immediate action to #endcuttinggirls
  5. FGMC/C is practiced as a cultural ritual by ethnic groups in 30 countries in Sub-Saharan and Northeast Africa which needs to be stopped #endcuttinggirls
  6. Twelve industrialized countries that receive immigrants from countries where FGM/C is practiced—Australia, Belgium, Canada, #endcuttinggirls

 

28.Cyprus, Denmark, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, and United States—have passed laws criminalizing the practice #endcuttinggirls

 

  1. What we need to do is to take begin to make these laws easily accessible to people so as to #endcuttinggirls @endcuttinggirls

 

  1. The laws have to simplified into easy to understand words for the average person on the street. #endcuttinggirls @endcuttinggirls

 

  1. laws have to be published and made available in schools, libraries, hostels and everrywhere possible #endcuttinggirls @endcuttinggirls

 

  1. In adition, the laws have to be interpreted into the predominant local languages for everyone to be aware and to #endcuttinggirls @endcuttinggirls

 

  1. Agencies, Ministries and organisations that provide services that help to #endcuttinggirls need to have their names and addresses published and distributed. @endcuttinggirls

 

  1. Media houses and the National Orientation Agency should allocate time for free awareness creation jingles on their numerous platforms. #endcuttinggirls @endcuttinggirls

 

  1. Social media activities such as this @UNICEF supported tweet conference, and @endcuttinggirls need to be amplified and sustained to #endcuttinggirls

 

  1. Information such as facilities where survivors and people at risk can find help, what to do in case of a likely violation of the law, etc, need to be made available on websites and Social Media platforms #endcuttinggirls @endcuttinggirls

 

  1. Websites such as www.endcuttinggirls.com and @endcuttinggirls are already doing a great job of creating such awareness and information. #endcuttinggirls

 

  1. Other advocates and platforms can begin to curate and archive relevant data to make the #endcuttinggirls campaign easily accessible and understandable to all. @endcuttinggirls

 

  1. An App containing the relevant laws per State, and at the federal level will also be a right step in this journey to #endcuttinggirls @endcuttinggirls

 

  1. Such app will also include the simplified versions of the laws, their local interpretations, and details/links to facilities and resources that are useful. #endcuttinggirls @endcuttinggirls

 

  1. With that we have come to the end of today’s tweet conference. We will take questions now. #endcuttinggirls @endcuttinggirls