On July 2, 2010, after 4 long years of hard work and tireless dedication, the GEAR Campaign joyfully succeeded in their ultimate mission - the General Assembly of the United Nations voted unanimously for the establishment of a single UN agency to promote gender equality and rights for women the world over, known as “UN Women”, UN Women will bring together 4 previously separate UN entities under one agency, strengthening the world’s commitment to gender equality and the right of all women and girls to an education, economic independence, health care and security of person. The GEAR Campaign (gender/equality/architecture/reform = GEAR) is comprised of over 300 different organizations with a focus on human rights and gender equality, including such groups as Equality Now, Amnesty International and Women’s Environment and Development Organization. Recognizing the magnitude of the problem, these groups came together to lobby the United Nations to establish a single, driving force that rightfully gives greater recognition and credibility to gender issues in an international forum. As a result, the 4 entities now united under UN Women are the secretary-general's Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and the Advancement of Women, the U.N. Development Fund for Women known as UNIFEM, the Division for the Advancement of Women, and the U.N. International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women. It is hoped that the establishment of UN Women will also result in increased funding and renewed commitment from UN member states to deal more effectively with gender equality issues.
With this new and wonderful development unfolding on the world stage, my mind is drawn back to a gender issue that has haunted me for many years: female genital mutilation (FGM). FGM isn’t easy to talk about, let alone think about. If you’ve never heard of FGM, you may be quite shocked by what you read here. FGM is sometimes referred to as female circumcision, although I have always found that name to be rather euphemistic; “mutilation” seems much more accurate. According to the World Health Organization, there are 4 different kinds of FGM practiced around the world, and they are as follows:
1. Clitoridectomy: partial or total removal of the clitoris (a small, sensitive and erectile part of the female genitals) and, in very rare cases, only the prepuce (the fold of skin surrounding the clitoris).
2. Excision: partial or total removal of the clitoris and the labia minora, with or without excision of the labia majora (the labia are "the lips" that surround the vagina).
3. Infibulation: narrowing of the vaginal opening through the creation of a covering seal. The seal is formed by cutting and repositioning the inner, or outer, labia, with or without removal of the clitoris.
4. Other: all other harmful procedures to the female genitalia for non-medical purposes, e.g. pricking, piercing, incising, scraping and cauterizing the genital area.
FGM has absolutely no health benefits, and violates the most fundamental basic human rights to security and integrity of person agreed upon by all 197 member states of the United Nations. And yet, it continues at an alarming rate. The age range of victims of FGM is roughly from infancy to about 15 years old; we should never forget that we are talking about children here. In Africa, about 3 million girls undergo FGM every single year. The WHO estimates that roughly 100 to 140 million girls and women worldwide are living with the physical repercussions of FGM, not to mention the psychological trauma caused by such a horrific procedure, the kind of emotional scar that I would imagine never really heals.
I call this blog “The Lotus Still Blooms” for a very specific reason. The lotus is a water flower that begins its life in total darkness, at the bottom of a pond or a river, rooted in mud. Over its lifetime, the lotus grows upward from the darkness as it seeks the light just above the surface of the water. When it finally breaks the surface, it blooms into a beautiful flower. When I think of the lotus, I think of perseverance. I think of inner beauty emerging from the darkest places. I think of the divine feminine in all of us, and I think of the obstacles overcome as the lotus strives to reach the light throughout its entire life. The lotus reminds me that the light is still attainable, even when our beginnings originate in the darkest of places.
With this blog, my intention is not to overwhelm the reader with horrific facts about FGM, or stories of pain and heartache. My intention is to remind women of the world (and men!) of our common humanity, and to appeal to that sense of compassion, to appeal to them not to turn away in fear or helplessness, but to move forward with hope and conviction, in partnership with others, to try to bring real change. For now, we will leave some of the more gruesome details out of this story, and in my next post, we will look at why FGM persists and where it occurs. You may be surprised to learn that is has likely happened in your own backyard.
UN Women’s official name is the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. My hope is that groups like UN Women will make it possible for women and girls around the world, especially the youngest and most vulnerable females, to continue moving ever closer to the light - to freedom, to equality, to security, and to a life of love and self-worth.
