The End FGM EU Secretariat welcomed a new member in February! Our former ESC Volunteer Mereb Habte is now our Operations and Governance Officer. 

This is a new permanent position that is responsible for the general operations of the organisation (policies, administration ..etc.) as well as for coordinating governance of the Network (general assembly, onboarding of new Members...etc.) Read her full bio HERE

Also! Our team will also be welcoming three new trainees in the coming month! Keep an eye on our  team page to see who is joining us. 

Finally, we are currently looking for an interim Director for the Network (maternity cover) for 7 months. Find the call HERE

Every year, we strive to educate ourselves, other actors of the movement, and the public on what we can do better to address FGM. This is the purpose behind our Annual Campaigns. This year, we want to continue engaging with our supporters and allies on a new theme: 

How do we end FGM?

This year, we look at the work happening behind ending FGM. We want to give the centre stage to our Members and Ambassadors. 

From February to December, we are sharing about 5 different areas of work: Advocacy, Research, Support Services, Education and Community Engagement. Eliminating the practice will take all of these areas. It will take all of us working together. We are all #BehindEndingFGM.

On Friday 4th of February 2022, in anticipation of the International Day of Zero Tolerance for FGM, we hosted an online event titled: "How do we end FGM? The Importance of Community Leadership.” It included a panel discussion with community activists on the topic of community leadership to end FGM in Europe and beyond. 

The first theme we explored was ADVOCATE: how do we end FGM? We advocate! 
We shared about advocacy, featuring our Members Lessan, Orchid Project and MIGS. 
The next component is RESEARCH which we are currently exploring. Follow us on social media to access our Members' knowledge on research and why it is an essential aspect of our work to end FGM!

Bassmala and Cynthia, our Youth Ambassadors, are hosting an interactive workshop on FGM in Sex Ed, body safety and harmful practices. This workshop is part of the IPPF Project: "Joining the EU discussion on FGM and Sexual education in 2022", co-funded by the European Union Erasmus+ programme.
Join Cynthia and Basmala's workshop by registering below!

Let's have a look at everything our Ambassadors and Youth Ambassadors have been up to in the first quarter of 2022. From advocacy videos to community workshops, our Ambassadors have been busy these past few months.

Since 2021, we have been working on the TuWezeshe Akina Dada- Leadership & Fellowship Programme. The Fellows have been leading their own research on FGM. To close the project, our Youth Ambassador Amal Hussein and 2 other fellows Hawa and Maida have shared their recommendations with the FEMM committee Chair and Vice-Chair Robert Biedron, Eugenia Palop, Sylwia Spurek and Maxova Radka.

The European Week of Actions for Girls (EWAG) coalition has created a short policy recommendation video putting forward EWAG youth policy asks about Girls' Rights ahead of the AU-EU Summit.

Watch the video and amplify their voices by sharing it!

We are working on adding a new country to our interactive map on FGM in Europe! This interactive map includes all the information the Network and our Members have gathered on laws, policies, services and data collection on FGM in 14 (soon 15) European countries.

In February, the Mind the Gap partners met to discuss the final steps of the 2-year project, including its final international conference coming soon! In the meantime, discover our guide for educators on how to promote gender equality in the classroom.

End FGM EU contributed to the European Parliament report on intersectional discrimination in the European Union.

On 8 March 2022, on the occasion of International Women’s Day, the European Commission published the legislative proposal for a Directive on violence against women and domestic violence. Read our reaction to the Directive.

End FGM EU, within our coalition, the Global Platform for Action to End FGM/C’s, held a virtual parallel event at the Commission on the Status of Women: “Engaging Men to End Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting”. Our panel gathered advocates and experts who discussed ways to incorporate men in programming to end FGM/C. Our esteemed speakers included Fatima Sy, Dame Indiaye, Mariya Taher, Mireille Tushiminina, End FGM EU Ambassador Rodrigue Nkwayaya, and Catherine Cox. This event was moderated by Carol Jenkins. 

You can watch the recording below!

On 30 March, UNICEF and the End FGM EU organised the first 2022 meeting of the Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) Donor Working Group (DWG) to discuss innovative financing for FGM Elimination and accelerating Gender Equality. 

End FGM EU was invited to hold a workshop on the topic of Female Genital Mutilation for delegates of the Council of the EU’s Working Party on Human rights (COHOM). 

On the 10th of February, our Member AIDOS, together with other partner organisations supported by the UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Programme on FGM co-organised the online event “Investing in Strategic Partnership and grassroots actors to end FGM”. 

In June 2019, ActionAid Sweden launched a project establishing safe spaces for FGM-affected people. First held online, they were recently able to move back to physical safe spaces for FGM survivors living in the Stockholm region.

Our Member Diotima is providing free legal aid and sociopsychological support to Greek and immigrants women having low annual income.

The Finnish League for Human Rights (FLHR) has worked since 2002 for preventing female genital mutilation (FGM), as well as for raising awareness and change attitudes toward the practice in Finland. 

Our Member FSAN has been busy this first quarter with various activities from expanding their key-persons network, to preparing their new online podcast and their Zero Tolerance Day event. 

Our Member Lebkom e.v's FULDA-MOSOCHO Project (FMP) received a national honour on 8 March 2022 in Nairobi, Kenya on International Women’s Day.

Our Member Lessan has launched the European project "Men Standing Up for Gender Equality - Amplifying Change" (MFGE - AC) running from 2022 to 2024. 

Within the framework of the FEM-UNITED project, MIGS and the Cyprus University of Technology have launched the campaign “Connect the Dots” to raise awareness among front-line professionals, policymakers and the general public on the prevention of femicide and to enable citizens to call on governments, politicians and state institutions to take action. 

Every year on 6th of February, TERRE DES FEMMES initiates a Germany-wide book campaign to raise awareness on the topic of FGM. The campaign took place in 22 bookstores and libraries spread throughout the whole country. 

On the occasion of the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation, about 260 professionals and stakeholders from all over Germany attended the National Launch Conference, hosted by our Member TERRE DES FEMMES.

Meet #MissKlitty!

This campaign by End FGM Canada aims to start the conversation about the clitoris and the harms of FGM/C to save girls from the practice. More than 4 million girls a year are at risk of FGM/C.  There are no benefits to injuring a girl’s clitoris and other genitalia; it does only harm, both physical and emotional.  #MissKlitty’s message:  Hurting me is human rights abuse!