Thursday, February 3, saw the official launch of The Girl Generation programme (TGG), to mark International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation with a roundtable discussion at the British High Commission in Nairobi, of the UK government-funded ‘Support to the Africa-Led Movement (ALM) to End FGM/C’. This ambitious five-year initiative aims to achieve an accelerated reduction in the practice of female genital mutilation or cutting (FGM/C).
FGM/C is practised in more than 30 countries across Africa, Asia and the Middle East, and by diaspora communities in Europe, the Americas, and Australia. It is estimated that three million girls are at risk of undergoing the practice every year. 200 million women and girls alive today have already been subjected to FGM/C.
In many communities, FGM/C marks the transition from girlhood to womanhood: once a girl is subjected to FGM, she is considered ready to be married and start a family. This often represents the end of her education. The impact of this on the survivors’ physical and mental well-being is devastating and life-long.
“This is a girl-centred programme, girls are placed at the heart of our programme design, implementation and evaluation. The Africa-led movement to end FGM/C is stronger than ever, but it’s also facing significant new challenges: it is estimated that as a direct result of COVID-related movement restrictions, school closures, and economic pressures, an additional two million girls – many of them living in Africa – are at risk of being subjected to FGM in the next decade,” said Jacinta Muteshi, speaking at the programme’s launch in Nairobi.
The TGG programme continues the UK government’s commitment to ending FGM/C in Africa and worldwide. It builds on the successes of its predecessor, The Girl Generation, which ran from 2013 to 2018 and helped to connect 900 member organisations across ten countries, galvanising the world’s largest collective of activists aiming to end FGM/C in one generation. The new programme is implemented by a consortium of six partners, each bringing a specific area of expertise – and all with deep links with communities and networks of activists across the continent.
“FGM/C cannot be tackled as a standalone issue, we include it in the wider agenda of GBV because it is a form of gender-based violence and we are committed to ending this practice in Kenya,” said Prof. Margaret Kobia, Cabinet Secretary – Ministry of Public Service, Gender, Senior Citizens Affairs & Special Programmes.
H.E Jane Marriott reiterated the UK’s commitment to ending FGM/C in Africa including Kenya by 2030 saying: “The UK has been a global leader in supporting the Africa-led Movement to end FGM/C since 2013. We are so pleased to be supporting the Africa Led-Movement to #EndFGM which has the girl at the centre of its approach. This provides an opportunity to intensify these efforts, calling for new partners and setting higher ambitions to end FGM/C, #InvestDontRest ”.
The roundtable discussion covered whether the upcoming elections would impact commitments made by the government. “During the election process we should look at the manifestos by the electoral candidates, it should include a commitment to end FGM/C so that a momentum will be sustained,” added activist Macharia Karanja, Youth Anti-FGM Network Kenya.
With the continued support from governments and stakeholders, this new funding will support the Africa-led movement to end FGM/C with skills, resources, and mentorship over the next four years. This, in turn, will help girls across the continent to thrive and pursue their ambitions, envisioning a world where girls and women can exercise their power and rights, have expanded choice and agency, and be free from all forms of violence, including FGM/C.
About The Africa-Led Movement (ALM):
The UK Government (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office – FCDO) has a vision of a world free from Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) by 2030, in line with the SDGs. It established a programme entitled ‘Support to the Africa-led movement (ALM) to end FGM/C’ to contribute to global efforts to achieve that vision. Girls are placed at the heart of the programme design, implementation and evaluation, since FGM/C is a practice that affects and impacts girls this programme aims to centralise their voices.
The programme envisions a world where girls and women can exercise their power and rights, have expanded choice and agency, and be free from all forms of violence, including FGM/C. This programme will support and build the capacity of the ALM to end FGM/C at multiple levels and at scale, working in partnership with the rest of the FGM/C movement, complementing UN agencies (such as the UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Programme on FGM/C), Saleema initiative, other alliances (such as Girls Not Brides etc.) and grassroots Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), women’s and girls’ movements, etc.
The programme includes two consortia working in close collaboration. Options Consultancy leads a consortium including Amref Health Africa, ActionAid UK, Orchid Project, ACCAF and the University of Portsmouth to implement the ‘Support to the ALM to End FGM/C’ programme. Population Council and Greenmash are implementing ‘The FGM/C Data Hub: Data and Measurement Support to the ALM to end FGM/C’.