Nottingham connected
the quality of the speeches from all the contestants were
amazing. It was an emotional moment and there were
some tears of joy in the room.
Just after receiving my certificate and prize (£300), the
president of Women Federation for World Peace UK and
Vice President WFWP Europe, Mitty Touma announced
that I have been invited to deliver my speech at the WFWP
Europe conference in November 2016 in Bratislava. That
is the moment I felt I was going on a journey with this
amazing organisation.
Apart from delivering my speech, I was also asked to
run a one hour capacity building sessions for girls and
women. While in Bratislava, I had a great opportunity for
networking and met very interesting people who got very
interested in the work Mojatu Foundation does.
Earlier this year, WFWPI UN Office Director Vienna,
Elisabeth Riedl wrote to me about speaking at the UN
on Zero Tolerance to FGM. From my speech and capacity
building session in Bratislava, I shared more on how we
got Nottingham city to declare Zero tolerance to FGM
(the first city in UK to officially do so). That caught a
lot of attention at the conference and discussions with
different people.
What followed were official invitations to me and the
Sheriff of Nottingham Cllr Jackie Morris who has been
instrumental in supporting our work and also tabled
a motion on Zero Tolerance to FGM at the full council
house in September 2016. The Sheriff is also our FGM
ambassador who has dedicated her time and energy
to work closely with us to support other cities in UK
and beyond to follow us. Our key message is on the
importance of local authorities to support and work
closely with survivors and affected communities. We
continue to share our community engagement model
and how a multi-agency approach has continued to put
Nottingham ahead in tackling FGM. Nottingham agreed
to a set of commitments that we worked together on to
ensure girls and women at risk are kept safe, survivors are
supported, frontline professionals receive training, referral
pathways developed amongst other commitments.
I was so touched when the president of WFWP Europe,
Caroline Hundschin announced at the opening of the
conference at UN Vienna that the whole conference on
Zero Tolerance to FGM was inspired by my speech and
Faith & Spirituality
21
work I have been doing. When I looked at the room full of
people from different backgrounds and professions, I felt
so proud of the work our Nottinghamshire Community
FGM Steering Group has been doing in Nottingham and
all our partners and funders.
Amongst the speakers were H.E Ambassador Leigh Turner,
UK Ambassador to Austria who officially welcome the
Sheriff of Nottingham and myself and officially opened
the conference. In his speech he recognised the great
work Nottingham is doing in tackling FGM and why other
cities should learn from us.
The Deputy Mayor of Salzburg Hagenauer announced in
her speech that she was inspired by Nottingham’s work
in tackling FGM and that her aim is also declare the city
of Salzburg Zero tolerance and ensure a multi-agency
approach in the city.
Through all the support from a wonderful mentor, Mitty
Touma and the UK team, Caroline Hundschin, Elisabeth
Riedl and the Austria team and all the networks and
friendships developed, we have seen our work being
recognised more and we are developing stronger
partnerships.
Personally, I have continued to discover my strengths
and the power of networks that bring likeminded people
together. I have now been invited to Germany to attend
two difference conferences to share our model and work
with communities.
I will also be travelling to Kenya in April with the Sheriff of
Nottingham on a mission meeting partners, government
officials and communities on the work being done to
tackle FGM and share and learn with others. Thanks to all
this platforms, the Sheriff is keen to set up a fund to do
some work in Kenya that will also include working with
FGM cutters to “drop the knife”. We have been given great
contacts through WFWPI and the UN and we do hope that
our work will continue to inspire others.
I feel more inspired and empowered since I started my
journey with WFWPI and I cannot thank you enough
for being a great part of my journey. I look forward to
inspiring and mentoring other future.
The speech contest for 2017 is now open and I would
encourage more young women to apply. See page 22
(My winning speech @ www.mojatu.com)