Demba Diawara

Last updated
Demba Diawara
Bornc.1931 [1]
NationalitySenegalese
Educationno formal education
Known forleadership of villages to renounce Female Genital Cutting

Demba Diawara (born c. 1931) is an imam and village leader of Keur Simbara in Senegal. He is known for his leadership in encouraging village communities to abandon the tradition of female genital cutting. [2] He knew of the first declarations at the Senegalse village of Malicounda Bambara to abandon FGC in 1997 and he led his village and many more to the first multilateral announcement at Diabougou in 1998.

Contents

Life

Diawara was born in about 1931. He is an imam and a chief of the small, but now well known, village of Keur Simbara in western Senegal. [3]

Unilateral declaration and problem

Diawara had been initially concerned in 1997 when he heard that the nearby village of Malicounda Bambara was declaring that it intended to stop the Bambara tradition of female genital cutting. A second village, Nguerigne Bambara, followed on November 6, 1997. [1] He went to Malicounda Bambara to express his alarm but he was sent away and told to speak first to the women of his own village. [4] Diawara took this advice and he saw the benefits of change. [5] The women told him things that he had never known. He knew that his niece was mentally ill and his sister-in-law was not able to have children, circumstances that he attributed to FGC. He never knew how much it hurt and he had never seen what an uncut woman looked like. [6] Diawara wanted his village to follow their lead but he foresaw two problems. He realised that other villages would still consider his village's girls unclean because they were not cut and these girls may have to remain unmarried. [5] He realised that he needed to look at the whole of the village's extended social network if they were to create permanent change. [3] The second problem was that this subject needed to be raised delicately. Some activists used explicit images and they condemned the traditions and those villagers who had, in good faith, observed them for generations. [4]

Multilateral declaration and solution

Diawara, his nephew and the woman who did the cutting in his village walked to spread the message. [4] They used Diawara's social network. Diawara visited distant relatives from his paternal line and from his maternal line. [7] He said

"A person's family is not their village. The family includes one's entire social network: their relatives in many surrounding villages, in all of the places they marry ... If you truly want to bring about widespread change ... they must all be involved [7] "

Diawara had to raise a delicate subject and persuade the local social network. He decided to just present the facts and to not suggest a conclusion. He was able to mention that this was a secular and not a religious tradition. Diawara's approach was later used as a model of change-management by the anti-FGC charity Tostan. [7]

Molly Melching, Lynne Featherstone, Demba Diawara and Khalidou Sy in Keur Simbara in 2013 Lynne Featherstone watches the presentations (8592462630).jpg
Molly Melching, Lynne Featherstone, Demba Diawara and Khalidou Sy in Keur Simbara in 2013

Diawara's solution achieved international recognition and attention. On 14 February 1998 fifty representatives from thirteen villages met at Diabougou near the border with Mali to end the tradition of Female Genital Cutting (FGC). The villages had an estimated total population of 8,000 people. Diawara had organised the first multi-lateral commitment to end FGC in Senegal. The declaration had been organised by Diawara and the charity Tostan. [2] Diawara chose the village of Diabougou as the site of the ceremony. [2] Previously villages had made this commitment following external support from charities like Tostan but Diawara was able to use his own resources to create this cultural commitment to change. [1]

The agreement was translated into other languages but it was first drafted in the Wolof language. [2] The leaders commitment was witnessed and reported by the media and the activist Molly Melching. This agreement resolved the problem identified by Diawara because it meant that girls and boys could find partners from other villages. [8] Amongst the crowd was the woman who had performed the cutting and despite losing her income she was committed to the change. [9]

Legacy

Weeks after the Diagoubou declaration Hillary Clinton (and her husband who was then the president) gave a speech against FGC on 2 April in Senegal which attracted international coverage. [10] Diawara's approach to communicating with his social network was later used as a model by the anti-FGC charity Tostan in their training of activists. [7] Diawara's views were not universally welcomed. Some lamented the loss of tradition and saw Hillary Clinton's speech as "white people" telling Africans what to do. Diawara's approach grew and in 1999, another multilateral declaration involved 105 villages with an estimated total population of 80,000 people. The Senegalese government outlawed the practice, but laws may not effect a whole village's traditions in the same way as Diawara's persuasion. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Female genital mutilation</span> Ritual cutting or removal of some or all of the vulva

Female genital mutilation (FGM) is the ritual cutting or removal of some or all of the vulva. The practice is found in some countries of Africa, Asia and the Middle East, and within their respective diasporas. As of 2023, UNICEF estimates that "at least 200 million girls... in 31 countries"—including Indonesia, Iraq, Yemen, and 27 African countries including Egypt—had been subjected to one or more types of FGM.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mandinka people</span> West African ethnic group

The Mandinka or Malinke are a West African ethnic group primarily found in southern Mali, the Gambia, southern Senegal and eastern Guinea. Numbering about 11 million, they are the largest subgroup of the Mandé peoples and one of the largest ethnic-linguistic groups in Africa. They speak the Manding languages in the Mande language family, which are a lingua franca in much of West Africa. Virtually all of Mandinka people are adherent to Islam, mostly based on the Maliki jurisprudence. They are predominantly subsistence farmers and live in rural villages. Their largest urban center is Bamako, the capital of Mali.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soninke people</span> West African ethnic group

The Soninke people are a West African Mande-speaking ethnic group found in Mali, southern Mauritania, eastern Senegal, The Gambia, and Guinea. They speak the Soninke language, also called the Serakhulle or Azer language, which is one of the Mande languages. Soninke people were the founders of the ancient empire of Ghana or Wagadou c. 200–1240 CE, Subgroups of Soninke include the Jakhanke, Maraka and Wangara. When the Ghana empire was destroyed, the resulting diaspora brought Soninkes to Mali, Mauritania, Senegal, Gambia, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinée-Conakry, modern-day Republic of Ghana, Kano in Nigeria, and Guinea-Bissau where some of this trading diaspora was called Wangara.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Molly Melching</span>

Molly Melching is the founder and Creative Director of the Tostan Community Empowerment Program (CEP). Tostan is a non-governmental organization (NGO) headquartered in Dakar, Senegal whose mission is to empower African communities to bring about sustainable development and positive social transformation based on respect for human rights. Her website, Tostan.org, states "Tostan implements a holistic, three-year empowering education program in African national languages that has engaged over 3,500 rural communities in eight African countries on themes of democracy, human rights, health, literacy, and project management skills". These themes include the abandonment of female genital cutting, the abolishment of child/forced marriage, and female empowerment in leadership positions such as leadership positions in countries across West and East Africa.

<i>Moolaadé</i> 2004 film

Moolaadé is a 2004 film by the Senegalese writer and director Ousmane Sembène. It addresses the subject of female genital mutilation, a common practice in a number of African countries, from Egypt to Nigeria. The film was a co-production between companies from several Francophone nations: Senegal, France, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Morocco, and Tunisia. It was filmed in the remote village of Djerrisso, Burkina Faso. The film argues strongly against the practice, depicting a village woman, Collé, who uses moolaadé to protect her daughter and a group of younger girls. She is opposed by the villagers who believe in the necessity of female genital cutting, which they call "purification". This was Sembène's last film before his death in 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tostan</span> Nonprofit organization

Tostan is a US-registered 501(c)(3) international non-governmental organization headquartered in Dakar, Senegal. The organization's mission is "to empower communities to develop and achieve their vision for the future and inspire large-scale movements leading to dignity for all" in several West African countries, including Senegal, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, The Gambia, Mali, and Mauritania.

The Inter-African Committee on Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children(IAC) (French: Comité interafricain sur les pratiques traditionnelles affectant la santé des femmes et des enfants) is a non-governmental organization (NGO) which seeks to change social values and raise consciousness towards eliminating female genital mutilation (FGM) and other traditional practices which affect the health of women and children in Africa.

Khitan or Khatna is the Arabic term for circumcision, and the Islamic term for the practice of religious male circumcision in Islamic culture. Male circumcision is widespread in the Muslim world, and accepted as an established practice by all Islamic schools of jurisprudence. It is considered a sign of belonging to the wider Muslim community (Ummah).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Religious views on female genital mutilation</span> Female genital mutilation

There is a widespread view among practitioners of female genital mutilation (FGM) that it is a religious requirement, although prevalence rates often vary according to geography and ethnic group. There is an ongoing debate about the extent to which the practice's continuation is influenced by custom, social pressure, lack of health-care information, and the position of women in society. The procedures confer no health benefits and can lead to serious health problems.

Malicounda Bambara is a village in the rural community of Malicounda within M'bour Department of the Thiès Region in western Senegal, located northeast of Saly on the Petite-Côte and approximately 85 km from the Senegalese capital of Dakar. It is one of three villages all named Malicounda, but with affixes Bambara, Sérère and Wolof, each denoting the prevalent ethnicity. The three are closely connected through relations. Malicounda Bambara is especially notable for being the first village in Senegal to publicly abandon the traditional practice of female genital cutting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prevalence of female genital mutilation</span>

Female genital mutilation (FGM), also known as female genital cutting (FGC), female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and female circumcision, is practiced in 30 countries in western, eastern, and north-eastern Africa, in parts of the Middle East and Asia, and within some immigrant communities in Europe, North America and Australia. The WHO defines the practice as "all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons."

Ellen Gruenbaum is an American anthropologist. A specialist in researching medical practices that are based on a society's culture.

The Orchid Project is a British charity which works towards ending female genital cutting. The Orchid Project is based in London and primarily works to advocate for increased resources towards ending FGC and raising awareness about how the practice can end. They also have programmes with Tostan in West Africa, Feed the Minds in Kenya, and with Senegalese musician and activist Sister Fa.

Diabougou is a village in the Thiès Region of western Senegal. The village was the site of the "Diagoubou Declaration". This was the first multilateral announcement to renounce the practice of female genital cutting in Senegal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Keur Simbara</span> Village in Thiès Region, Senegal

Keur Simbara is a small village in the Thiès Region in Senegal. The village is known internationally because of the efforts of its village chief Demba Diawara. He persuaded a group of villages to co-operate to renounce Female Genital Cutting. Diawara believed that in order for Keur Simbara to renounce FGM then he would need to persuade the villages wider social network. This was achieved. Keur Simbara, a small village, has received Ministers from other countries.

N'Guerigne Bambara or Nguerigne Bambara or Nguering is a small village in the Thiès Region in Senegal. The village is known internationally because of its early decision to renounce Female Genital Cutting.

Nigeria has the highest rate of female genital mutilation (FGM) in the world in total numbers. It is usually experienced by girls aged 0 to 15 years old. It involves either partial or complete removal of the vulva or other injury to the female genital organs and has no medical benefit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sahiyo</span>

Sahiyo is a non-governmental organization founded in 2015, to advocate for girls' and women's rights and oppose the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) in Asian communities, with a focus on the Dawoodi Bohra community in India.

Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a cultural practice that occurs in several cultures and is practised in India by some Islamic groups. The Dawoodi Bohra is one sect of Islam in India known for their practice of FGM, with other Bohra sects reported as partaking in practices of FGM as well. The procedure frequently occurs at the age of seven and involves "all procedures involving partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs.". The process is typically performed by a traditional practitioner using a knife or a blade and can range from Type I to Type IV. The consequences of FGM take on a wide range and can span from discomfort to sepsis and have also been correlated with psychological consequences, such as post-traumatic stress disorder.

The book In the Name of Tradition is the outcome of a comprehensive study on female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) in Iran conducted by Kameel Ahmady, an anthropologist and researcher, and his colleagues. It was published in Farsi by Shirazeh in 2015 and followed by an English version by Uncutvoice publishing house in the same year. The study explores why and how FGM is practised in Iran. The researchers aimed to uncover the various dimensions of FGM between 2005 and 2015 in four provinces: West Azerbaijan, Kurdistan, Kermanshah, and Hormozgan.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Bettina Shell-Duncan; Ylva Hernlund (1 January 2000). Female "circumcision" in Africa: Culture, Controversy, and Change. Lynne Rienner Publishers. pp. 257–259. ISBN   978-1-55587-995-2.
  2. 1 2 3 4 February 14, 1998: The First Inter-Village Public Declaration, Tostan.org "blog", Retrieved 21 August 2015
  3. 1 2 Demba and the village of Keur Simbara, Rina Jimenez-David, 4 December 2011, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Retrieved 23 December 2015
  4. 1 2 3 Geraldine Terry; Joanna Hoare (2007). Gender-based Violence. Oxfam. pp. 74–75. ISBN   978-0-85598-602-5.
  5. 1 2 3 Maria Armoudian (23 August 2011). Kill the Messenger: The Media's Role in the Fate of the World. Prometheus Books. pp. 224–225. ISBN   978-1-61614-388-6.
  6. ↑ Luc Sindjoun (2010). The Coming African Hour: Dialectics of Opportunities and Constraints. African Books Collective. pp. 160–161. ISBN   978-0-7983-0230-2.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Ending female genital mutilation, one household at a time, Gannon Gillespie,22 August 2013, The Guardian, Retrieved 21 August 2015
  8. ↑ UNICEF/Tostan. La Décennie qui a fait reculer l'excision. UNICEF: 2008, p. 26.
  9. ↑ Village by Village, Circumcising a Ritual, Vivienne Walt, 1998, Washington Times, Retrieved 23 August 2015
  10. ↑ First Lady promotes fight against female circumcision, 2 April 1998, BBC, Retrieved 23 August 2015
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