Wave of anti-female genital mutilation activism takes place in Mali

According to RFI and agencies on August 30th, recent online videos, particularly of a little girl being mutilated, have put the topic at the centre of online conversations, highlighting important cultural clashes in West African societies.

As a female genital mutilation (FGM) video went viral in Mali and many West African states, questions about the sexist and violent, yet common, practice resurface.

FGM designates the act of mutilating a usually young girl’s genitals by partial or total removal of the female external genitalia.

Widely recognised as a human rights violation as well as child abuse, the practice remains particularly important in West African countries; 89% of women between the ages of 15 and 49 have been mutilated in Mali.

As feminist groups have called for harsher laws and an end to complacency by local authorities, traditional and conservative men have reacted, proudly stating that female genital mutilation is a way of protecting girls and “creating a future for them”.

As explained by Jeremy Cauden, founder of the Connected Africas Cabinet, “It is not the pro-female genital mutilation campaign that went viral. It is the vast reactions that increased its visibility and put this taboo subject back in the public sphere”.

The now-viral #UneLoiUneFoiUnPeuple, “One law, one faith, one people,” is uniting many feminist organisations across West Africa.

Militants across the region have disseminated extensive information to counter the misleading and sometimes overtly misguided arguments of traditionalists, while also tracking down the most influential traditionalists.

Mali is the only country in which FGM is not explicitly illegal. Even if tangible condemnations are reportedly very rare, almost impossible, militants are dedicated to bringing traditionalist men down.

Kadiatou Konaté, co-founder of the Young Girls Club in Guinea, explains that “We target important profiles that use religion to legitimise their opinions. We target them to deconstruct their reasoning in front of their own audience.”

Konaté further adds that, hypocritically, many of these influential people live in Europe.

For feminist organisations, pro-FGM figures living in Europe help the case, as these violences are less accepted than in Western African countries.

For instance, as a result of calls to the police, Kanimakan Traoré had to delete his posts insulting non-mutilated women, claiming that due to “a phone call with the French police, I will delete my posts”.

Tabara Touré told RFI that “We also campaigned against Bandji Touré, a Malian living in France, who said he wanted to subject his daughter to [FGM].”

“We reported him to the prefecture and launched a petition regarding his residence permit. If they want to campaign for FGM, let them do it from Mali, instead of trampling on women’s rights while enjoying French privileges.”

The Malian government has not officially responded to any accusations or requests; however, pro-junta influencers have taken it upon themselves to explain that anti-FGM movements are not to be politicised in Malian society, as well as claiming that these feminist causes represent foreign interference.

To that, Tabara Toure responds that “we do not need the West to know that female mutilation is an unacceptable violence.

RFI, UNICEF, Maghrebi.org