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Success Story
Community development
outreach workers and
teachers help educate
parents on dangers of
female genital cutting
Stopping Female Genital Cutting
Photo: Takamol Project
A female outreach worker provides
parents with health information regarding
the dangers of female genital cutting.
“Circumcision is a custom
not a religious obligation,”
said Marwa an outreach
worker in Luxor City, Egypt.
The USAID-funded Integrated Reproductive Health Services
Project conducts community-level training to increase knowledge
of, and change attitudes towards, specific health practices in
Egypt. Included in community training programs are male and
female religious leaders, literacy facilitators, Ministry of Health
and community development association outreach workers, and
agricultural extension workers. These trainings not only empower
individuals to function as agents of change, but also ensure that
community members hear consistent health messages from various
sources. One of the messages the USAID training is working to
reinforce is that female genital cutting is not safe nor is it necessary.
During a home visit, Sabreen El Teiri told an outreach worker of her
plans to circumcise her youngest daughter as soon as she could
afford the cost of the procedure. Because of the USAID training,
the outreach worker knew female circumcision came with many
complications. The outreach worker did not immediately comment,
but went to see Iman Metwally, El Teiri’s literacy class facilitator, to
discuss ways to change El Teiri’s mind.
Metwally raised the subject of female circumcision or female genital
cutting during class and explained the hazards associated with the
practice. She also gave the students examples of 13-year-old girls
who are uncircumcised and are healthy without excessive “sexual
desire.” Metwally told the class, “It is the mind that controls our
desires and if we raise our daughters properly, they will grow up
normal.”
Metwally then visited El Teiri at home to discuss the dangers of
female genital cutting, relaying the story of a girl who almost bled
to death during the procedure. The outreach worker also revisited
El Teiri and brought her posters and photos of the female genital
cutting process.
Finally, El Teiri was convinced and managed to persuade her
husband. The decision against circumcision was supported by the
local religious leader as well as the local doctor who stated that
circumcision is not a religious obligation and has many associated
psychological, health and social complications.
The USAID training is planting the seeds of knowledge in Egyptian
communities that are helping to prevent female genital cutting.
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