Within the first two months of 2013, three public declarations took place, including the first ever regional public declaration in Senegal that brought the total number of communities that have abandoned to over 7,000. This regional public declaration in Ziguinchor, Senegal, like other smaller public declarations, was a result of coordinated outreach efforts, a process we call organized diffusion. Communities who had participated in the program in the region led social mobilization and awareness-raising activities about human rights and the teachings of Tostan’s CEP. This included educating others about women and girls’ right to health and the potential health consequences, both immediate and long-term, of FGC.
As comunidades no Senegal estão vinculadas pelo peso das suas palavras, e fazer um anúncio num espaço público reflete a aceitação da nova norma social – ninguém será marginalizado por decidir não participar numa prática quando todos concordaram coletivamente em abandoná-la. É muito importante reunir toda a comunidade para abandonar uma prática, e consideramos que as declarações públicas são importantes para criar uma massa crítica que permita o abandono, através do apoio coletivo e público.
In 2008, a Unicef evaluation examined villages that had participated in the CEP from 1997 to 2001 and had taken public pledges to abandon FGC. It found that, nearly 10 years later, the prevalence of FGC had fallen by more than half in participating villages. This evaluation established a link between public declarations and a decline in prevalence.
Como a Tostan sempre explicou e como as nossas avaliações externas demonstraram, o abandono após o nosso programa e a declaração pública desse abandono não são garantidos a 100 %. No entanto, as declarações públicas são fundamentais no processo de abandono total e necessárias para criar uma massa crítica, levando, a longo prazo, a que a mutilação genital feminina passe a ser uma prática do passado.
“This is vital for future generations and has given us a basis for new behaviors to protect children and women and their physical and moral integrity”
Governor of Ziguinichor, Cheikh Tidiane Dien