On 20 January 2013, the region of Ziguinchor in Senegal will host an all-region public declaration for the abandonment of female genital cutting (FGC) and child/forced marriage. Learn more by reading the following synopsis or the original article in French posted on www.seneweb.com.
Over 400 communities expected to participate in upcoming regional declaration in Ziguinchor, Senegal
For the first time, an entire region in Senegal will host a public declaration to announce their collective decision to abandon FGC and child/forced marriage on January 20. Over 4,000 people from 427 communities are expected to participate, making it one of the largest declarations to date. Through organized diffusion and social mobilization efforts, Tostan participants built momentum for this impressive step in the movement for an FGC-free Senegal by spreading information about human rights to neighboring villages in Ziguinchor.
“Today we can say that we are almost at an 80% drop [of FGC prevalence] at the regional level,” according to Bacary Tamba, Tostan Regional Coordinator. The regional declaration is an indication that abandonment of FGC and child/forced marriage is accelerating throughout Senegal, making total abandonment in the entire country by 2015 possible.
