A young girl stole the show when somalis in Somaliland decleared abandonment of Female Genitial Mutilation (FGM)in a ceremony in Borama this week.
Both men and woman participated in the ceremony to stop the harmful tradition, which will not only benefit three years old Bilan Muhammed, but many, many more girls in the Sheikh Osman Community.
Woman, men, boys and girls where invited together with traditional and religious leders, when UNFPA through its partner Community Development Action Group (CDA) held its final and last eradication of FGM campaign. The reason was to finally say goodbye to this old tradition, symbolized with the hope of future generations, through three years old Bilan.
Almost 70 people had gathered in a guest house for the event which marked the end of a three months long campaign. The woman was decorated in green for the occasion, the men whering T-shirts with the slogan ”Its time to stop FGM” written on the chest.
- We choose the green colour to symbolize peace. Now it will be peace for the woman living here, because they will no longer be victims of FGM, said Amina Farid who led the CDA campaign.
The harmful tradition of FGM is in inverse proportion to education and information. The community of Sheikh Osman is no exception.
A large numbers of IDP´s lives in that community, in the vicinity of Borama, the provincial capital Awdal region.
The project attemp to promote education in awereness raising, as it is crucial to the success of the FGM awereness campaigns and it also worked with FGM practitioners wishing to establish alternative sources of livelihoods as they quit the practice.
Therefore the campaigners included the use of songs and theater to spread the message to stop FGM. Two practitioners symbolically laid down their knife, and then the young girl entered the scene, took the microphone and shouted loudly, - Stop FGM.
