Clitoraid organizes silent march to support.

People around the world will support UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s ‘UNiTE to End Violence against Women’ campaign, but each and every year another three million young girls have their sexual organs cut out by the horrific tribal practice known as Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).

Since 2007 Clitoraid, the international charity dedicated to opposing FGM, has supported this important day.

«All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights», first article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This should included “The ‘right of the body’ declared Sylvie Chabot, head of Clitoraid-Canada, meaning that the integrity, dignity and autonomy of their bodies should not be violated against their will. Obviously, performing FGM on innocent young girls is totally contrary to all human rights.”

Indeed, the World Health Organization (WHO) reports, ‘some 165 million women and girls worldwide are living with the consequences of FGM.’ About 92 million of these live in Africa, but with increased immigration in recent years this practice has now spread to the west.

Clitoraid is a private non-profit organism founded in 2006 following an idea launched by Raël, spiritual leader of the Raelian Movement. The principal goal of this organization is to raise funds to help african women by allowing them to choose to have inexpensive surgery that repairs the mutilations, restores physical pleasure.
Chabot explains, “Dr. Pierre Foldes, a French surgeon of Hungarian origin, developed this surgical procedure, commonly known as FGM Reversal, 25 years ago. He then taught it to many doctors world wide. Together these remarkable surgeons are, thanks to science, able to help FGM victims to recover their dignity and pleasure.”

Clitoraid has responded to this challenge by raising over US$300,000 to construct a small surgical hospital dedicated to FGM reversal near the town of Bobo Dioulasso in the central West African country of Burkina Faso. Komkasso Hospital, meaning ‘the women’s house’ is nearing completion and, if funding can continue to be raised, should open in 2013.

“It doesn’t matter whether people contribute much, what counts is their determination, according to their means, to help these women and to end this barbaric practice and to allow these cruelly treated women to experience the pleasure that should always have been theirs,” concluded Sylvie Chabot.

In order to oppose firmly FGM, rape, wife beating and all other forms of violence against women,

Canadian branch of Clitoraid will organised “Silent March” in Quebec, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto,

Sunday November 25th.

QUÉBEC : 1h30 - Place d’Youville, at the St-Jean door

MONTRÉAL : 1h00 - Square Philip park , in front of La Baie store

OTTAWA : 1h00 - Angle of street Rideau and Cumberland

TORONTO : 2h00 - Angle of Yonge NO and Queen streets

November 25th the International day for the elimination of violence against women adopted the General Assembly of UNO December 17, 1999.

Among the types of the violence against women, the most violent is undoubtedly the excision: "female genital mutilation" (FGM).
A study made public in October 2007, by the "Institut national d'études démographiques" (INED), indicates that between 100 and 140 millions women underwent sexual mutilation in the world. Let us point out the many medical and psychological consequences related to these practices - infections, sterility, childbirth difficulties, anxiety and depression.

Clitoraid, a non-profit organization world wide joins all national and international organizations in supporting this international day for the elimination of violence against women.

Some "silent marches" will take place Sunday November 25th, 2012.

Toronto at 2PM = Corner of North West Yonge St & Queen St
Ottawa at 1pm = Corner of Rideau street and Cumberland
Montreal at 1pm = Square Phillips - in front of La Baie
Quebec at 1:30pm = Place Youville at the St-John door

Clitoraid supports african women in recovering their right to pleasure, dignity and femininity.

Join us !

September 2012 – Parliamentarians from Burkina Faso, Mali, Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria and Togo met in Ouagadougou on 5 September to discuss the problem of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) in their country, particularly in border areas. For several years now, Burkina Faso has been a pioneer in Africa in trying to stamp out the excision of women and young girls, a practice that has been illegal since 1996. However, FGM/C persists and prevalence is still greater than 75 percent in several areas, particularly in several border zones.

Supported by AWEPA, the European Parliamentarians with Africa Association, in cooperation with the United Nations Population Fund, and following the activities organised in April this year, the parliamentarians from Burkina Faso, Mali and other neighbouring countries wished to further examine the question of transborder excision, identified as one of the reasons the practice persists. Mali shares a long border with Burkina Faso and other countries in the region, and, to date, has still not adopted a law against FGM/C, despite the efforts made in this direction by the network of Malian parliamentarians to combat violence against women. The absence of a law in Mali encourages people to cross the border to carry out excision. These borders are often open with very little control. The Belgian Senator and member of AWEPA, Mrs Dominique Tilmans, also taking part in this activity, broached the issue of excision in immigrant communities in Europe and, in several of her interventions, emphasised the need to continue awareness raising efforts, the crucial role of the parliamentarians as opinion leaders, but also the role of the media in this struggle, as well as the necessity of raising the awareness of men, given their role as head of the family and decision-makers within society.

After the attending MPs had exchanged experience and points of view, the meeting led to the adoption of a series of recommendations with a view to boosting the action of the parliamentarians against FMG/C, particularly pertaining to the cross-border phenomenon. From the point of view of the legislation, the parliamentarians recommended, among other things, that specific laws be adopted in the countries which don’t yet have any; that the texts be translated into the national languages and widely disseminated; that the networks of parliamentarians combating violence against women in the different countries be institutionalised, and cooperation encouraged between these groups for enhanced harmonisation of the national legislations; and that the involvement of regional organisations such as UEMOA and ECOWAS be sought, to facilitate the harmonising of the texts through directives. In terms of concrete action in the border areas, the parliamentarians also recommended that parliamentary focal points be set up in the border locations; the setting up of vigilance committees in the border villages be encouraged; periodic consensus frameworks be created at the borders and awareness raising actions be implemented and pursued in the border communities and areas.

The Bourkinan parliamentarians and the AWEPA team then went to Yatenga province on 6 and 7 September, to continue awareness raising operations at the level of the community. Two public audiences were organised in the villages of Zogoré and Sissamba in the municipality of Ouahigouya, with the support of two civil society organisations, the associations AMMIE and Santé Plus. The Burkinan MPs and the European parliamentarian, with the aid of audiovisual materials, spent a long time discussing the question with local population groups, to exchange information about the harmful effects of the practice, the contents and provisions of the law against mutilation, and the role of individuals – men, women, traditional chiefs and religious leaders – within family and community. Several people gave testimony – fathers, mothers, children and former excisers – in turn told of their experiences as a consequence of the practice which were often very hard or even tragic. In addition to the showing of an awareness raising film, a forum-stage play highlighted the ins and outs of FGM/C practices, consolidating the awareness raising efforts of the communities visited.

This activity was organised within the scope of AWEPA’s programme called “The role of parliamentarians in the abandonment of FGM/C”.

Photo: MPs discuss the approach chosen for awareness raising in the villages

The practice of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) has been banned in Somalia under the country’s new constitution.

An estimated 96% of women in the African country undergo the practice, with up to 140 million globally living with FGM/C.

Prominent Somali women’s advocate Fatima Jibrell told African humanitarian news service IRIN: “The fact that the new provisional constitution outlaws the circumcision of girls is a welcome development, but this will require education, awareness-raising and strong legal provisions.”

Photo: Clitoraid Leaders from Burkina Faso, Bane and Abi, who actively promote awareness raising against FGM in Africa.