Nottingham connected
FGM and the like as criminal harm, bad traditions
and human rights abuses.
Faith & Spirituality
23
5. Remember the ‘4 E’s’ of Eradication (See full
paper in the next issue Issue M023)
3. Spread the message! • Engagement (in communities)
Programmes such as the Guardian Global
#EndFGM Media Campaign and training in places
such as Kenya, Gambia and Nigeria, for young
journalists can reach many, many corners of the
globe. Likewise, be sure to include a whole range
of people as activists and enforcers and make sure
all relevant professionals are equipped with the
knowledge and understanding they need to tackle
FGM. And we also need to be talking to boys and
men, in traditionally practising communities, in
schools and other shared public places in the UK
and US, and in political contexts. • Education (about FGM and, critically,
also as preparation for adult life)
• Enforcement (legal protection and
prosecutions, or FGM protection
orders) … and
• Economics (addressing the fundamental
bases of these human rights abuses).
4. Develop a proper paradigm.
I have tried in my writing to make the case for a
conjoined discipline– which will bring together all
the aspects of this very complex subject. There is a
danger that, without top-level direction and without
a clear understanding of parameters for action for
various types of activists and campaigners, we will
begin – however much they are not intended – to
see professional turf wars. In nations such as the
UK, the time simply for awareness-raising is past.
Co-ordinated interdisciplinary research, analyses
and actions are now the order of the day.
This interview was originally published by the AHA
Foundation. Hilary Burrage, previously a college
lecturer, is a sociologist, author of two on female
genital mutilation (FGM) and a consultant on FGM
for the Guardian Newspaper. She is currently
campaigning to STOP FGM in the UK. Visit https://
hilaryburrage.com or Twitter @HilaryBurrage
Hilary will be part of the Mojatu Foundation’s
discussion board on the actions needed in
terms of policy and mental health support
for FGM survivors during the Nottingham
in Parliament day on 25th October 2016
See page 13
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