Protect Girls from FGM in Tanzania

Last week Rhobi was invited to tell her story as an FGM survivor and activist at a high level panel as part of the United  Nations General Assembly in New York.  She spoke movingly about begging her parents not to cut her, as she feared dying and her body being thrown in the bush to be eaten by wild animals, as had happened to her friend Sabina.  But her pleas were in vain and she was cut and nearly bled to death.  She has since dedicated her life to saving other girls from a similar fate.

You can watch a recording of her testimony here.

The following day Rhobi and I participated in a mapathon at UNFPA organised by Crowd2map where we explained how better maps can help activists like Rhobi quickly find girls at risk of FGM and showed people how they can help to create them.  There were side events in over 60 countries as part of this global FGM event, including at the Ministry of Women in Somalia, and with FGM activists in Kenya, Guinea, Mali, Niger, Uganda, Djibouti and many more.  

And now Rhobi is in London for the UK premiere of the film about her work, In the name of your daughter.  For those of you near London, Nottingham or Yorkshire I hope you may get the chance to watch it and to meet Rhobi.

Thank you again for your generosity in supporting girls refusing FGM in Tanzania.

We are delighted that the UNFPA have decided to award Rhobi's organisation Hope for Women and Girls a capacity building grant so that she can deliver a text based FGM reporting system in time for the major cutting season expected in December.  This will be pilotted in Butiama District with the full cooperation of the governement officials there and assistance from UNFPA.  The idea is then to roll it out more widely the following year.

The support from UNFPA comprises a grant of $20,000 to enable Hope to publicise the new system with outreach work in each village with roadshows, drama presentations and debates.  At these they will also put up posters in the schools, clinics and village offices detailing how the public can report FGM, as well as distribute mini postcards.  Hope will also organise various radio adverts alerting people in the weeks leading up to the cutting season, and also warning about the illegality and dangers of FGM more generally.  Radio adverts and shows are a really good way of reaching many people in this area where very few people have electricity or tv. 

Furthermore the grant entitles Rhobi and her staff to access a wide range of training, mentoring and support, and is of course an endorsement of her work as an anti-FGM activist over many years.  So well done Rhobi!

In further good news the film about Rhobi In The Name of Your Daughter will be shown at a VIP screening hosted by the European Union and attended by representatives from the Ministry of Gender, the Police Department and many NGOs, and also at the Zanzibar Film Festival. We are hoping this will really maximise its impact. It will be shown on the BBC and other international TV stations later in the year, dates yet to be confirmed, and we are hoping to arrange screenings in villages in Serengeti before the cutting season too.

Last month Hope participated in the Day of the African Child celebration, and 6 girls were sponsored by NOMAD to visit their tourism facilities to learn about careers in tourism.  They have also offered to sponsor girls into a vocational course on this - so many thanks NOMAD. 

So thank you again for supporting Rhobi’s FGM work in Tanzania. If you would like more frequent updates about her work please follow Hope on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter and their blog.

With gratitude

Janet