Photos

Confronting FGM with inter-generational dialogues

Under the umbrella of the UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Programme on the Elimination of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), UNFPA Egypt adopted the Generation Dialogue methodology to initiate social and behavioral change within communities with a focus on FGM, with the support of the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Cairo, and in partnership with Care.

The generation dialogue is a long-term methodology that aims at investing in community members' capacities to come up with dialogue champions that act as agents of change and roll out intergenerational dialogues in their communities to bridge the gap between young and elder groups of men and women, boys and girls.

The Generation Dialogues is a tool used for changing norms around harmful practices for accelerating its abandonment, building on an approach that allows local communities to express the underlying dilemmas and values that lead them to continue to support a practice which they know to be harmful.

These are the stories of Dialogue Champions in Minya.

Photo credit: Roger Anis/UNFPA Egypt

Shadia Hassan has taken it upon herself to educate her community about the harms of FGM. The 65-year-old grandmother goes door-to-door in her Upper Egyptian village of Bani Ebeid in Minya, speaking to parents and grandparents, talking them out of subjecting their girls to the harmful practice. “Some people listen to me, but others resist,” Shadia says, “They tell me we cannot go against what we’ve grown accustomed to.” She explains that most parents listen to her, but it is the grandmothers that are harder to convince.

Around his village, Georgi Wahba is a bit of a celebrity. People point and wave at him; “That’s Georgi!” they say, “he’s the one who organizes the FGM awareness sessions.” The public gatherings and awareness-raising sessions he holds as part of the Generation Dialogue project have resonated through his Minya village. As a ‘Dialogue Champion,” 53-year-old Georgi attended workshops shedding light on the impact of FGM and was trained on communication skills, to be able to disseminate messages on FGM and harmful practices against women and girls.

Grandmothers and mothers-in-law are considered sources of resistance to social norms change in communities. However, they are still part of the solution as they have great influence on their families and play a major role in decision-making when it comes to FGM. That is why Shadia insists on winning them over. She explains that we live in a different time, and resorts to religious and legal references to support her argument. After the very first training session she attended on FGM, Shadia needed no further convincing. “I was invited to attend a session and I liked it immediately,” she recalls.

“I liked learning new information, and I wanted to pass it on to my daughters and grandchildren.” Shadia believes in the importance of “befriending” one’s children and grandchildren. “I told my daughters to be their children’s secret keepers, don’t let anyone interfere between you and them.” Generation Dialogue aims at doing just that; creating a space for community members from different generations to talk about their beliefs and values, without fear of judgement. Shadia continues to invite her neighbors and family members to the dialogue sessions. “In addition to the information we receive, we really enjoy gathering and spending time together.”

Georgi Wahba sits with his family in their home in Minya.

Georgi explains that in Upper Egypt, FGM is deeply rooted in religious misconceptions. He explains that he faces people who still want to continue practicing it because “it is tradition.” “People tell me we inherited this practice, they’re doing it because their neighbors are doing it under the pretext of ‘chastity’ or ‘marriageability’,” Georgi says. However, for Georgi, this kind of debate is healthy, he doesn’t want people to simply agree without understanding and believing the logic behind his arguments. “I ask what they gain out of subjecting girls to FGM?” he explains, “If you are about to get married, why would you care if this woman has been subjected to FGM? Isn’t it more important to agree on other things to build a life together?” “This is something that God created,” he says, “who am I to subject a girl to this practice?”

He boasts about the large number of people who attend the public gatherings and sessions he holds himself now. “We bring together entire families, a husband and wife and their daughters, and spend the day with them.” Now a familiar face in the village, people sometimes even reach out to Georgi when they hear that someone they know is about to be subjected to FGM and report it to him so he can take action to stop it. Still, Georgi is hopeful and believes that people are more educated about FGM than ever before through their exposure to social media and television. “Engaging in dialogue among families, friends and communities is the most important step,” he says, adding that he makes sure he spends enough time with his family. “You should’ve seen this house yesterday, there were over 50 family members here,” he boasts.