CIP | 22.03.2013
The Global Campaign Against Female Genital Mutilation Continues
A global campaign to eradicate female genital mutilation [FGM], often misnamed "female...
Kurdistantribune | 04.03.2013
Tackling Female Genital Mutilation in the Kurdistan Region
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is defined by the Word Health Organization (WHO) as...
UN Special | 06.02.2013
The long road to the first FGM-free villages in Iraq
According to a large survey conducted in 2009, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is...
Iraq Updates | 17.10.2012
38% of Kirkuk Girls Are Circumcised
According to a statistic by (Pana) center 38% of girls in Kirkuk are circumcised, according to the...
Associated Press | 20.12.2012
UN unanimously calls for global ban on centuries-old practice of female genital mutilation
UNITED NATIONS - The U.N. General Assembly unanimously approved a resolution Thursday...
CPT Iraqi Kurdistan | 19.12.2012
Profile of courage: Shanga Rahim Karim
Three years ago, while attending a meeting at WOLA, a women's legal assistance organisation...
IRAQUNDERMYSKIN | 01.12.2012
Stop the mutilation of women
,I call on mothers and sisters to help stop the mutilation of women.'' That was the very...
REUTERS | 17.10.2012
Fighting female genital mutilation, one Kurdish village at a time
Amena practiced female genital mutilation in her remote village in Iraqi Kurdistan for so many...
Human Rights Watch | 29.08.2012
Iraqi Kurdistan: Law Banning FGM Not Being Enforced
The practice of female genital mutilation continues in the Kurdistan region of Iraq a year...
GATESTONE | 29.06.2012
Campaign Against FGM in Iraq and Middle East
Among Iraqi Arabs in a recent sample, it is common for the fathers of prospective husband...
THE SUN DAILY | 21.06.2012
Women's rights law no match for Kurdish tradition
In June 2011, Iraqi Kurdistan passed a landmark law that criminalised female circumcision...
Sama Tata | 05.06.2012
FGM remains a problem in Iraqi Kurdistan and beyond
While much research exists on the prevalence of FGM in Africa, “the existence of FGM/C in the...
RUDAW.nET | 03.05.2012
Female Circumcision Still Prevalent Among Some Kurdish Communities
Around 34 percent of women in the ethnically diverse city of Kirkuk have been circumcised...
HIVOS | 04.05.2012
Dutch liberal MP labels Wadi’s anti FGM campaign ‘best practice’
Once in a while one gets support from an unexpected friend. It occurred this week when the...
AKNEWS | 12.04.2012
Iraqi human rights committee calls on Kurdish counterpart to coordinate fight against female circumcision
A member of the human rights committee in the Iraqi Council of Representatives today called on...
WADI | 09.04.2012
Study shows: FGM common in Kirkuk
For the first time, an empirical study proved that female genital mutilation is also prevalent in...
turkishpolicy.com | 01.03.2012
An Underestimated Human Rights Issue: Female Genital Mutilation in Iraq
Female genital mutilation (FGM, hereinafter) is a form of gender-related violence that was...
AKNEWS | 16.02.2012
Religion involved in violence against women
The law for combating domestic violence is one of the most significant laws that Kurdistan...
Kirkuk Now | 08.02.2012
WADI: 50% of Kirkuk women circumcised
In its latest report on FGM, the German WADI says the circumcised women are facing...
WADI | 18.01.2012
1st ever conference on FGM in Middle East
FGM not merely an African problem; high rates in the Middle East...
IRIN NEWS | 13.01.2012
Link between FGM/C and mental disorders
New data out of Iraq shows what many psychologists suspected though little research has...
EYE SEE MEDIA | 08.11.2011
Iraqi Kurdistan: Free yourself from FGM – A new approach
In a remote village called Toutakhel, hidden amidst the endless hills of Kurdish...
HUDSON NEW YORK | 18.08.2011
Female Genital Mutilation "An Obligation" According to Iraqi Muslim Cleric
In June, the parliament of Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) adopted a...
STOP FGM - the BLOG | 15.08.2011
Female Genital Mutilation “is an obligation” says Mullah
A mullah in Iraqi-Kurdistan talked in a Friday sermon about the new bill against domestic violence...
Human Rights Watch | 25.07.2011
Iraqi Kurdistan: Law Banning FGM a Positive Step
Bill Shows Commitment to End Violence Against Women...
AKNEWS | 23.06.2011
Ban on female genital mutilation passed
For the first time in Iraqi Kurdistan women are protected by a new law against some of...
AKNEWS | 19.06.2011
Bill to ban female genital mutilation before parliament
The Kurdistan parliament will discuss a bill on domestic violence tomorrow, which proposes the...
kurdish globe | 17.04.2011
Campaign to end the pain
A health awareness campaign becomes a stepping stone to a FGM-free generation...
US STATE DEP. | 08.04.2011
2010 Human Rights Report Iraq
Female genital mutilation (FGM) is not illegal and is a common practice particularly in the rural...
sargasso | 18.02.2011
"Vrouwenbesnijdenis vooral een probleem in moslimlanden"
Thomas von den Osten-Sacken van de Iraaks-Duitse mensenrechtenorganisatie...
RUDAW.nET | 05.02.2011
Female Circumcision Prohibited Says Islamic Law Professor
Dr. Mustafa Zalmi, a leading Kurdish Shariah law expert, has said female circumcision...

 

 

 

The Campaign: Stop FGM in Iraqi-Kurdistan

In the few years since it has been launched, the campaign Stop FGM in Kurdistan has created the conditions for an effective struggle against female genital mutilation (FGM) in Kurdish northern Iraq.

Today, people discuss FGM openly in the newspapers, in radio and TV shows and on the streets. It has not always been this way. Through awareness and advocacy initiatives, the campaign Stop FGM in Kurdistan succeeded in breaking a taboo, making FGM a widely discussed issue. Information is now available to everyone in northern Iraq about the consequences of FGM: pain and suffering, physical and psychological harms, life-long anxiety and loss of ability to feel sexual sensations. FGM is now a recognized problem among the Kurdish public and the local authorities.

A broad network

Stop FGM in Kurdistan is a network of local and international organizations, human rights activists, artists and journalists. They are all committed to ending FGM.

For this reason, the network organizes public and prevention work, engages in political lobbying and works on the ground. For instance, the aid association WADI is running several mobile teams, providing assistance to women across the region.

International awareness

On an international level, the existence of FGM in Iraq has been ignored for many years. Female genital mutilation has been commonly described as an ‘African disease’. Thanks to Stop FGM in Kurdistan, this approach is now changing.

In 2009, the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) reported about FGM in Kurdistan for the first time. UNICEF/Arbil followed. Shortly before, WADI had published the first findings from a comprehensive study it was about to conduct, indicating that FGM is prevalent in almost all parts of Iraqi Kurdistan. The study, published in 2010, showed that FGM is as widespread in urban areas as it is in the countryside. Human Rights Watch subsequently published a report titled “They took me and told me nothing”, which confirmed the results found by WADI.

Today, the problem of FGM in Kurdistan is internationally recognized beyond dispute. In 2011, after initial reluctance, even the Kurdish Regional parliament dealt with this issue and passed the so-called Family Violence Bill, criminalizing FGM and other forms of violence against women and children. This step led to the fierce protest of some Mullahs and religious associations which called the new law unislamic. However, it is important to have their voices heard as well because the Kurdish society needs an open debate on the conflicting positions of tradition and human rights. For the first time, all positions are on the table now, and this breakthrough has become possible thanks to the Stop FGM campaign.

Prospects

WADI is looking beyond the borders of the Kurdish Autonomous Region because there is strong evidence for FGM being prevalent also in other parts of Iraq.

In cooperation with the local women’s rights organization Pana, WADI is now offering awareness training in the Kirkuk region where due to security reasons it was previously not possible to address such a sensitive issue. The anti-FGM awareness teams are also collecting data for a comprehensive statistical survey on the prevalence of FGM in Kirkuk.

In Iraqi Kurdistan, WADI is currently conducting the FGM-free village project. Several villages willing to stop the “tradition” will announce their intentions publicly in exchange for small community projects. Their declarations will encourage other villages to follow the example. They will become a powerful promotion tool for the sake of Stop FGM because a statement from fellow dwellers is much more convincing than some abstract demands from outsiders.

Your donation will make a difference

To hold to the successes achieved by this campaign so far, and to advance further, we need your support: Any donation will make a difference.

Open discussions are very important, but do not necessarily bring people to quit their “tradition”, especially in the rural areas. More awareness and education is needed, while the government, too, needs to take more action. The campaign Stop FGM in Kurdistan supports the public movement lobbying the government to act.