Ending FGC
Participants in Tostan's education program gain tools to lead local efforts to abandon Female Genital Cutting together
What's at Stake
The practice of female genital cutting (FGC) has impacted an estimated 230 million girls and women worldwide. Over 4,3 million girls a year are at risk of being cut around the world.
FGC carries many immediate and long-term health risks and is recognized internationally as a clear violation of human rights. More than just a harmful practice, FGC is a deeply rooted social norm enforced by community expectations around marriageability. By having a daughter cut, the family ensures that she will be a desirable marriage prospect.
Compared to the health risks, the social consequences that uncut girls face are equally severe. A girl who is not cut is often ostracized by her community.
What We Are Doing
Our Community Empowerment Program (CEP) allows community members to draw their own conclusions about FGC and lead their own movements for change. In the CEP class sessions on human rights, participants learn about their right to health and their right to be free from all forms of violence. They also discuss the responsibilities they share to protect these rights in their community.
In sessions on health, they learn about the potential, immediate, and long-term harmful consequences of the practice and discuss ways to prevent these health problems in the future.
Rather than blaming or criticizing, we encourage dialogue around these and other practices that communities feel hinder their vision for their community’s development. Participants, Community Management Committee members, and social mobilization teams speak with friends and family as well as travel to other communities to raise awareness about what they have learned.
Through this process, many communities decide to end FGC together, some without having directly participated in our classes.
Adopt A Learner
Although contributing to the abandonment of Female Genital Cutting (FGC) was not one of our original goals, it has become a rallying point for social change. So far over 10,324 communities from Djibouti, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Senegal, Somalia, and The Gambia have publicly declared their decision to abandon both FGC and child marriage. In 2021 alone, 590 communities in Senegal, Guinea-Bissau and Mali held 7 Public Declarations.
As Tostan has always explained and as our external evaluations have shown, abandonment following our program and a public declaration for abandonment is not 100 percent. However, public declarations are critical in the process for total abandonment and necessary for building critical mass, eventually leading FGC to becoming a thing of the past.
Our Community Empowerment Program (CEP) has been recognized as the preferred approach for promoting the abandonment of FGC by both the Government of Senegal and the Government of The Gambia.
How does Tostan’s education program foster social transformation ?
What Success Looks Like
Communities that complete the program report stronger agreement to end Female Genital Cutting and clearer understanding of its health and social risks. Families feel more confident discussing the practice and supporting uncut girls. Local leaders, including men, women and youth, take active roles in sharing accurate information and guiding dialogue. Public declarations reinforce community commitment and reduce pressure on families to continue the practice. These shifts create safer environments where girls can grow without fear of being cut.
Community Success
432
Public declaration across 3 countries where communities have abandoned FGC and child marriage in 2023
10,324
Commmunities have publicly declared abandonment of Female Genital Cutting and Child marriage since 1997