Men and boys essential in eliminating FGM

May 01, 2015

A United Nations agency has called on boys and men to join the war against Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in a strategy dubbed ‘Working with Men and Boys

By Jacquiline Emodek

 

A United Nations agency has called on boys and men to join the war against Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in a strategy dubbed ‘Working with Men and Boys for the Promotion of Gender Equality and Sexual Reproductive Health’.

 

Esperance Fundira, a United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) representative in Uganda said that using boys and men to fight FGM will go a long way because they are the actual gate keepers of culture in society.

 

“There is a misconception that since women are the people who implement FGM and are the ones who benefit from it financially, men do not have any responsibility in it however this is wrong because the patriarchal society makes men have the upper arm, “she said.

 

Fundira was speaking during a regional meeting organized by UNFPA East and Southern Africa Regional Office and Sonke Gender Justice at Entebbe Golf Course Hotel last week.

 

The meeting run under the theme: Support Men and Boys Networks in East Southern Africa Region to Engage in the Elimination of Harmful Practices.

 

FGM is a human rights violation that has affected over 125 million girls and women‘s sexuality and autonomy in about thirty African and Middle Eastern countries.

 

The cultural ritual ranges from removal of the girl’s clitoris to removal of the genitalia. It is practiced in eastern Uganda among three tribes namely the Pokot, Sabiny and Tepeth mainly found in the districts of Kapchorwa, Kween and Bukwo.

 

In 2010 Uganda passed a law banning FGM however the practice is still going on. Dr. Lydia Mungherera the executive director of Mama’s Club an NGO which works with HIV/AIDS infected women and adolescent girls said there is need for sensitization of men to understand the law and enforce it.

 

Dr. Olive Sentumbwe the focal person for Gender at the World Health organization (WHO) said that male involvement in issues to do with culture will influence their outcomes. 

 

“In Uganda men have a big role in maintaining cultures like FGM so if we engage them then there will be a change because they are the major decision makers in households,” she said.

 

She added that the men also need to be shown other alternatives of getting an income because the money got from early marriages is what is driving the vice.

 

“The fathers consider the fact that the younger their daughter is, the more cows she will earn him, we need to show them that there are other ways of making money,” Sentumbwe said.

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