FGM & Waris-Dire: Actions inspire more than words
Waris-Dire, nam to suna hoga? (Waris Dire...You must have heard this name). Had this question been asked to me before a week, my obvious answer would have been NO. But, recently, my parents gave me an abridged translation of her autobiography - The Desert Stone. (http://www.fgmnetwork.org/articles/Waris.html) As I read through the pages, I was astonished, surprised, shocked.....each page had something special to offer. Born in 1965 in Somalia (Africa), this lady has seen a lot of ups and downs in her life and she has emerged stronger every time.
My intention here is only to reflect and create awareness about FGM (Female Genital Mutilation). If, because of this blog entry, one person in any corner of the word benefits, I shall consider myself more than lucky. Waris Dirie has asked all of us to support her in her foundation website (http://www.waris-dirie-foundation.com) by creating awareness about it, donating something to her foundation, helping politicians and organizations working this cause etc.
Think about this, even if a small thorn pinches us or even a small mosquito bites us, we feel and express pain. Then, think of a five year old (or even younger, sometimes only a few months old) girl, on whom such a shameless surgery is performed - no anesthesia, no medicine, no proper tools....According to estimates by the World Health Organisation (WHO) 150 millions women are world-wide affected by it. In Europe, the number of mutilated women or girls and women threatened by FGM amounts up to 500,000.
We have to be inhuman not to lose temper after coming to know about it or after reading it. The more you know about it, the more sentimental you become. But, the problem with all of us (Public in General) is that our memory is very short. We come to know about something, we discuss it over a cup of tea, may curse some people and eventually forget it. While, I do not and cannot generalize this, what matters is that rather than simply criticising anyone or anything, if we can take the smallest of the action to help those who are working to solve it, it would be better. Well done is better than well said and Small deeds done are better than big deeds planned and Actions speak louder than words....We have thousands of proverbs in this connection.
The problem with this problem is that this problem has now spread throghout the world because African people have moved all over the wolrd over the years. Female Genital Mutilation happens primarily in Africa, in particular in North-Eastern, Eastern and Western Africa. However, it also takes place in the Middle East, in South-East Asia - and also among immigrants in Europe. The laws are not stringent enough, except in France, to fight this evil. Some people argue that this is a religious requirement, but nowhere in the holy book talk about this. In Muslim communities in Africa, in which FGM is performed, reference is made to the Qu'ran. But the Qu'ran does not provide for Female Genital Mutilation - it has nothing to do with religion.
Various reasons are provided, which are supposed to justify FGM - for instance the chastity of women; also, the mutilation shall ensure that the girls will still be virgins when being married. Hygiene, aesthetics and health may also be found among the reasons provided.
I think I will stop this post here. I cannot write more....it hurts.....But, I do hope that you, as a reader, will take at least a small action like me to ensure that awareness about FGM increases. Please do it. If you knew about FGM already, I hope this blog will motivate you to take some more action in this connection.
SOME PORTION OF THIS BLOG IS "COPY AND PASTE" from the website of Waris-Dirie Foundation. This is not a good practice if it were a research article. But, because the article has a noble cause of creating awareness at its heart, I am sure the readers will forgive me for some copy and paste portion.
After BPA's post, this has been the most sentimental post of mine. Thank you for reading this and investing your time.
My intention here is only to reflect and create awareness about FGM (Female Genital Mutilation). If, because of this blog entry, one person in any corner of the word benefits, I shall consider myself more than lucky. Waris Dirie has asked all of us to support her in her foundation website (http://www.waris-dirie-foundation.com) by creating awareness about it, donating something to her foundation, helping politicians and organizations working this cause etc.
Think about this, even if a small thorn pinches us or even a small mosquito bites us, we feel and express pain. Then, think of a five year old (or even younger, sometimes only a few months old) girl, on whom such a shameless surgery is performed - no anesthesia, no medicine, no proper tools....According to estimates by the World Health Organisation (WHO) 150 millions women are world-wide affected by it. In Europe, the number of mutilated women or girls and women threatened by FGM amounts up to 500,000.
We have to be inhuman not to lose temper after coming to know about it or after reading it. The more you know about it, the more sentimental you become. But, the problem with all of us (Public in General) is that our memory is very short. We come to know about something, we discuss it over a cup of tea, may curse some people and eventually forget it. While, I do not and cannot generalize this, what matters is that rather than simply criticising anyone or anything, if we can take the smallest of the action to help those who are working to solve it, it would be better. Well done is better than well said and Small deeds done are better than big deeds planned and Actions speak louder than words....We have thousands of proverbs in this connection.
The problem with this problem is that this problem has now spread throghout the world because African people have moved all over the wolrd over the years. Female Genital Mutilation happens primarily in Africa, in particular in North-Eastern, Eastern and Western Africa. However, it also takes place in the Middle East, in South-East Asia - and also among immigrants in Europe. The laws are not stringent enough, except in France, to fight this evil. Some people argue that this is a religious requirement, but nowhere in the holy book talk about this. In Muslim communities in Africa, in which FGM is performed, reference is made to the Qu'ran. But the Qu'ran does not provide for Female Genital Mutilation - it has nothing to do with religion.
Various reasons are provided, which are supposed to justify FGM - for instance the chastity of women; also, the mutilation shall ensure that the girls will still be virgins when being married. Hygiene, aesthetics and health may also be found among the reasons provided.
I think I will stop this post here. I cannot write more....it hurts.....But, I do hope that you, as a reader, will take at least a small action like me to ensure that awareness about FGM increases. Please do it. If you knew about FGM already, I hope this blog will motivate you to take some more action in this connection.
SOME PORTION OF THIS BLOG IS "COPY AND PASTE" from the website of Waris-Dirie Foundation. This is not a good practice if it were a research article. But, because the article has a noble cause of creating awareness at its heart, I am sure the readers will forgive me for some copy and paste portion.
After BPA's post, this has been the most sentimental post of mine. Thank you for reading this and investing your time.
Comments
I am sure instead of just supporting this write-up I am going to work for the society.