Women and girls in a village in the Tadjoura region of Djibouti, where a grassroots movement successfully lobbied to end female genital mutilation. Female Genital Mutilation in Djibouti: New Generation Demands End to Brutal Practice Women
“I can still see the knife and the woman who held me,” says Hawaa Mohamed Kamil, 30, who underwent female genital mutilation when she was just six years old, an experience that left not only physical but also psychological scars.
“I’m afraid of men, of everyone, of everything,” she told staff at UNFPA, the UN agency for sexual and reproductive health. Female genital mutilation is internationally recognized as a human rights violation. More than 230 million girls and women worldwide have undergone the procedure, and an estimated 27 million more may undergo it in the next five years.
Hawaa Mohamed Kamil.
Hawaa decided to channel her fear and anger into becoming an activist for the UNFPA-funded organization Elle&Elles, which supports sexual and reproductive health in Djibouti. The organization travels from the capital, Djibouti City, to remote villages to educate locals about the effects of female genital mutilation, including boys and men who can play a vital role in changing social attitudes.
Hawaa has even managed to convince members of her own family to abandon FGM. It’s a revolutionary step for traditional communities in Djibouti.
“I vowed to protect my granddaughter”
In the Tadjoura region, activist Khadija traverses miles of rugged terrain to convince families to spare their daughters the procedure. After representatives of the UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Programme to End Female Genital Mutilation visited her village of Otoy and lectured her on the harm caused by the procedure, Khadija decided to join the fight. “I let this happen to my daughter 25 years ago,” she told UNFPA. “But I vowed to protect my granddaughter.”
Having undergone the procedure herself, Khadija knows the pain that comes with female genital mutilation. The procedure also leads to infections, complications during childbirth, and sometimes even death. “We lost many women who bled to death before they could get to the hospital,” she says.
Khadijah campaigns for the end of female genital mutilation in Djibouti.
Khadija began talking about circumcision, first to women, then to men, and even to religious leaders. Both Hawaa and Khadija often faced misunderstanding and even ostracism from their communities for spreading “false information.” “People suspected that I had ulterior motives,” Khadija recalls. “They couldn’t believe that I was doing it for free, from the heart.”
But the women weren’t about to give up. “I’m proud of the changes we’re seeing today,” Hawaa says. Khadija has made particularly impressive strides: her village recently publicly announced that it would end the practice of female circumcision. “Change takes time, but eventually it happens,” she stressed.
Lessons in Resistance
Ibrahim is a village teacher. He teaches French. He also teaches children the need to protect the rights and well-being of girls.
“I made a vow that if I got married and had girls, I would not subject them to this procedure,” he says.
Ibrahim teaches French. It also teaches children the need to protect the rights and welfare of girls.
When his first daughter was born, Ibrahim faced resistance from his family, including his wife and grandmother, who insisted on circumcision. But he was determined to keep his promise.
“The most important thing is health,” Ibrahim emphasizes. “I urge all families to take care of the health of their girls and not circumcise them.” His stance on the issue has eventually gained popularity in his community, where more than 100 people now oppose the practice.
Religious Leaders Against Circumcision
46-year-old Hawi Mohammed is a mother of five, an activist, and a religious leader. She joined the Chamihat Djibouti network, a regional group of religious leaders who oppose female genital mutilation, a procedure she herself had once undergone.
As a child, she was subjected to what is known as “infibulation”, in which part or all of a girl’s external genitalia are removed. It is a painful and dangerous operation that can lead to severe bleeding, infections and death. Javi says she only fully understood the horror she had been subjected to when she reached puberty: the pain during her periods was excruciating. “I couldn’t go to school. “I needed painkiller injections just to function,” says Xavi.
Xavi Mohammed.
She now hosts a popular radio show, appears on television, and lectures at mosques, reminding people that female circumcision has nothing to do with Islam.
“People used to just leave when we talked about female circumcision,” says Havi. “But the new generation is different. Many mothers today are educated and informed.”
Havi’s daughters and nieces are living proof of her resilience: despite pressure from family and community members, none of them have undergone female circumcision. “I’ve been through a lot of pain, and I won’t let any girl suffer the way I did,” says Havi.