Experts to Brief Reporters on Female Genital Cutting, a Global Violation of Health and Human Rights

1/30/2004

From: Rhonda Smith of the Population Reference Bureau, 202-939-5427 or rhondas@prb.org

News Advisory:

Top experts and activists are meeting in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 6, 2004, to review advances in abandoning the practice of female genital cutting (FGC) also known as female genital mutilation. The symposium, sponsored by the United States Agency for International Development, will examine this harmful, traditional practice that violates the health and human rights of women around the world. At least 2 million girls are at risk every year of a practice that some say began 5,000 years ago. The cutting, generally performed without anesthetic, may have lifelong health consequences including chronic infection, severe pain, infertility, and problems during childbirth, as well as death from hemorrhage or infection. Recent research reveals that in some countries the practice is nearly universal with no sign of decline despite laws prohibiting the custom. Still practiced in 28 African countries, Asia, and the Middle East, this international problem has become a domestic health issue through immigrant populations, presenting a dilemma for health and legal professionals in the United States.

WHAT:

Experts to brief reporters: Female Genital Cutting -- A Global Violation of Health and Human Rights.

WHEN/WHERE:

Symposium on Friday, Feb. 6, 10 a.m. to noon at National Press Club Ballroom; Press Briefing at 12:30 p.m. in the Murrow Room at National Press Club (lunch will be served). The National Press Club is located at 529 14th Street, NW, Washington, D.C.

WHO:

Speakers:

-- Fatoumata Diakite, the Mali representative of the InterAfrican Committee, will speak about African regional networks and initiatives to eliminate this practice.

-- Dr. Nawal Nour, a physician at Brigham Hospital in Boston and a 2003 MacArthur Genius Award winner, will address policies and needs among African refugees in the U.S., her efforts to teach U.S. physicians, and the need for new U.S. laws.

-- Dr. Nahid Toubia, founder and president of RAINBO, will address the status of global policies and their effect on FGC, as well as the human rights perspective.

-- Molly Melching, founder of the Tostan Program in Senegal, will describe achievements of her renowned education programs in West Africa where 1,271 communities have vowed to stop the practice. She will be accompanied by a villager.