FORUM: "Partnership with Men and Boys to transform Social and gender Norms to End FGM". International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation 2023. This year, the UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Programme on the Elimination of Female Genital Mutilation: Delivering the Global Promise launched the 2023 theme. Follow the conversation with the hashtags: #MenEndFGM, #6February, #EndFGM.
EVENTS: Commencing on 6 February at 8 AM (EST), the broadcast event will highlight the sustained leadership of Member States, civil society organizations, the private sector and the United Nations system to inspire a global movement to mobilize support for the elimination of female genital mutilation, as well as amplifying the voices of community actors leading the work on engaging and partnering with men and boys on the ground. This year, UNFPA and UNICEF call on the global community to partner with men and boys and foster their engagement to accelerate the elimination of this harmful practice and uplift the voices of women and girls. Varying initiatives have been employed by organizations around the world to engage and partner with men and boys and for them to take an active role. These initiatives have resulted in a surge of male allies such as religious and traditional leaders, health workers, law enforcement officials, members of civil society and grassroots organizations, and more and have led to notable achievements in the protection of women and girls.
STATEMENTS:
Female genital mutilation is an abhorrent violation of fundamental human rights that causes lifelong damage to the physical and mental health of women and girls. It is one of the most vicious manifestations of the patriarchy that permeates our world.
Some 4.2 million girls are at risk of being subjected to this act of gender-based violence during 2023 alone. We need urgent investments and action to reach the Sustainable Development Goals target of eliminating female genital mutilation by 2030.
Female genital mutilation is rooted in the same gender inequalities and complex social norms that limit women’s participation and leadership and restrict their access to education and employment. This discrimination damages the whole of society, and we need urgent action by the whole of society to end it.
Men and boys – brothers, fathers, health workers, teachers, and traditional leaders – can be powerful allies in challenging and ending this scourge, as this year’s theme makes clear. I call on men and boys everywhere to join me in speaking out and stepping forward to end female genital mutilation, for the benefit of all.
On the International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation, let’s commit to social change and strong partnerships to put an end to female genital mutilation once and for all.
Joint Statement by UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem and UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell on the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation 2023.
This year, 4.3 million girls are at risk of female genital mutilation, according to the latest UNFPA estimates. This number is projected to reach 4.6 million by 2030, as conflict, climate change, rising poverty and inequality continue to hinder efforts to transform gender and social norms that underpin this harmful practice and disrupt programmes that help protect girls.
Female genital mutilation (FGM) violates the rights of women and girls and limits their opportunities for the future in health, education and income. Rooted in gender inequality and power imbalances, it is an act of gender-based violence that harms girls' bodies, dims their futures, and endangers their lives.
But we know that change is possible. With just eight years left to reach the global target of eliminating FGM, only collective and well-funded action across a diverse group of stakeholders can end this harmful practice.
Changing gender and social norms that encourage FGM is critical. Men and boys are powerful allies in the effort. Increasingly they are challenging power dynamics within their families and communities and supporting women and girls as agents of change.
The UNFPA-UNICEF global Joint Programme on the Elimination of FGM has supported over 3,000 initiatives within the last five years where men and boys actively advocate to bring an end to the practice.
We are witnessing significant opposition from men and boys to FGM in many countries. In Ethiopia, for example – a country with one of the highest rates of FGM globally – male opposition to the practice is 87 per cent, according to a recent UNICEF analysis.
This year, on the International Day of Zero Tolerance for FGM, we call on the global community to:
Partner with and engage men and boys to shift unequal power relations and challenge the attitudes and behaviours caused by gender inequality that lead to FGM.
Integrate gender-transformative approaches and changing social norms into anti-FGM programmes.
Invest in national-level policies and legislation protecting the rights of girls and women, including the development of national action plans to end FGM.
Today is a reminder of the urgent need for even more targeted and concerted efforts to turn our shared goal of ending FGM into a reality. We must work together with all stakeholders - including men and boys - to protect the millions of girls and women at risk and consign this practice to history.
UNFPA and UNICEF Executive Director.
WEBINARS:
#MenEndFGM: Partnering with Men and Boys to Transform Social Norms to End Female Genital Mutilation.Event Organizers: UNFPA and UNICEF Executive Directors, UN Women Deputy Executive Director, alongside ministerial level speakers from the United Kingdom, Iceland, Italy, Sweden and the European Union and young men and women from Gambia, Kenya, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Egypt, Nigeria and the United States.
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