FGM in Somaliland – Why is Change so Slow?

Female genital mutilation, FGM, is defined as a practice that involves the partial or total removal of external female genitalia or other injury to female genital organs for non-medical reasons. FGM is currently practiced in 31 countries, most African and in some parts of the Middle East and Asia. It is estimated that more than 200 million girls and women alive today have undergone FGM.

In 2018 the UN General Assembly adopted the resolution ‘Intensifying global efforts for the elimination of female genital mutilation’ in line with the Sustainable Development Goals. Using lifetime analysis of risks of being exposed to FGM in countries where it is practiced, a recent study showed that the overall likelihood of experiencing FGM had decreased during the last four decades in several countries.

However, progress had been very uneven and in certain countries almost no change was seen. The conclusion was: “Based on current trends, the goal of eliminating FGM by 2030 is out of reach”]. (Most of the 28 countries analyzed were in Africa). Among the populations in Africa where FGM is practiced, the highest prevalence rates are found in Somaliland at the Horn of Africa

A strong voice in Somaliland for the zero tolerance of FGM is the ‘Network against female genital mutilation in Somaliland’, NAFIS, a CSO established in 2006 as an umbrella organization for some 20 CSOs working to achieve the goal to eradicate FGM. Learning from previous national and international anti-FGM strategies, NAFIS from the start developed a program including advocacy for human rights, gender equality and the rights of girls and women to physical integrity. As the coordinator of national CSOs against FGM, NAFIS has been actively involved in advocacy at Government level, including among the religious leaders, for legislation against FGM. Education and information about FGM is communicated through schools, civil organizations and community groups, and in mass media. Integration of FGM messages into NAFIS rural development projects is another way to spread information about the Fatwa and raise awareness of the rights of girls and women to physical integrity. Since 2011 NAFIS has introduced FGM counselling and medical care in its activities for women who suffer from its consequences, the only CSO in Somaliland to do so.

Traditionally, in Somaliland, FGM was held to be a religious obligation, but several well-known religious leaders in Somaliland have pronounced themselves against FGM because of the increasing evidence of its health risks [8]. In a religious Fatwa from the Ministry of Religious Affairs from 2018, it was proclaimed that if parents circumcise their daughters, it should be done with great care to avoid any risky procedure causing harm for the girl [9]. The pharaonic procedure was declared forbidden while the sunna was mentioned as acceptable. The Fatwa does not explain what is meant by sunna, but it prohibits any cutting or stitching. Punishments for causing any harm to girls and women should be imposed on the person responsible for this. No punishments have as yet been imposed according to NAFIS.

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