---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Thu, 17 Jun 2004 18:24:36 +0000
From: Molly Melching
Subject: Men Making History (The role of men in FGC abandonment in the
    Fouta)


Men Making History:
The Story of Sedo Abasse
(Region of Matam, Senegal)

By Aemelia A. Tallen

When I arrived in Sedo Abasse, a village in the northern Matam region of
Senegal, I was very surprised.  My previous research on the subject of
Female Genital Cutting showed that men were either the cause of this
tradition or completely uninvolved in the practice as women were the
traditional 3cutters2 and those responsible for requesting the excision of
their daughters.

In what I knew to be a very conservative region, I witnessed men taking an
active role in the abandonment of the traditional practice of excision.  I
knew that the village had made a public declaration on October 22nd, 2003 to
abandon excision and forced, early marriage, and that the Tostan Village
Empowerment Program (funded by the Swedish International Development Agency
- SIDA) had educated villagers about the harmful consequences of these two
traditions over a two year period. As such, I decided to focus my research
on the obvious impact men were making in their community and why they were
now so passionately interested in a previously taboo and female-focused
issue.

After following the Tostan program and speaking with their friends and
family members, the men of Sedo Abasse refused to allow excision to remain a
female centered issue.  Little by little, they began to participate in the
community discussions and more public social mobilisation activities, and
they began to understand that the practice of excision affects the entire
community of Sedo Abasse.  What struck me as monumental was the fact that so
many of the men of the village stood up and began to participate in the
women1s efforts to abandon excision and to educate the surrounding villages
about the dangers of this traditional practice and that of forced and early
marriages.

Today, months after the declaration, the hardest work is shifting into the
hands of the men of the village who are seen as key to spreading information
on FGC and Sedo Abasse1s decision to abandon the practice to surrounding
areas. Several times each month, a Commission de Sensibilization (CDS),
consisting of three men and one woman, travels to surrounding villages in
the region and discusses with the villagers about the Tostan program and the
harmful health and human rights consequences caused by excision and forced,
early marriage.  Often paying for transportation and necessary supplies with
their own money, the members of the CDS are unyielding in their efforts and
passionate in their teachings.   In this village1s outreach efforts, it is
critical that the men of Sedo Abasse demonstrate to the husbands, fathers,
and brothers of other villages what men can do to aid for the abandonment of
these two harmful practices.

The men of Sedo Abasse realize that they are leaders in a new and noble
movement for human rights and must do what they can to encourage other men
in this very conservative region to join their effort.  If it were only the
women of Sedo Abasse who participated in the outreach to surrounding
villages, the people of Sedo Abasse feel that their mission would not be
taken as seriously.  This would partially be due to the position held by
women in this traditionally Muslim region.  If men participate in the effort
to educate other villages however, this is not a risk.  Many villagers
believe that men1s participation in the public declaration and the CDS
activities will allow other villages to better respect the decision made by
Sedo Abasse; in other words, not only leading to future declarations but
also validating the declarations that have already taken place.

Through Tostan1s comprehensive educational program, the villagers of Sedo
Abasse began to understand excision in terms of health and human rights, and
the men of the village began to take action along with their wives and
daughters.  The men of Sedo Abasse realized that it was impossible to
separate the violence that occurs against their wives and daughters from
their relationships with these women, and it is therefore evident that the
public declaration had to be a community effort.   The majority of men in
the village stated that their quality of life also improved upon the
village1s decision to abandon these two harmful traditional practices.

When the men of the village became aware of the harm that excision was
causing, they joined the effort to end this violent tradition.  With
Tostan1s educational program, the entire village embraced a healthier and
more democratic way of living.

Excision in Sedo Abasse is no longer viewed as simply a women1s issue, but
is rightfully seen as a traditional practice affecting all members of the
community.  In a region that still holds so tightly to their conservative
religious and traditional beliefs, it was surprising and exhilarating to
witness the men of Sedo Abasse making history in their effort towards the
abandonment of excision nationwide.

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