Activists for the eradication of FGM speak at the European Parliament
On 7 April the European Parliament in Brussels hosted the closing event of the Changing Attitude Plus (CHAT Plus) project. The meeting, which included the participation of the FAS, brought together entities, institutional representatives and young agents of change from Catalonia, the Netherlands, Ireland, Italy and Portugal to present the conclusions and knowledge generated in these two years of work focused on raising awareness, training and advocacy on the prevention and elimination of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).
The Fundació Autònoma Solidària (FAS) participated in this event thanks to its representative Rosana Carvalho, technician of Cooperation and EpJG, and to the young activists Àngela Reyes and Gal·la Gavilan, enrolled in the Sociocultural Gender studies at the UAB, and Bintou Mballo, actress and activist committed to fighting against FGM. Mballo collaborated in the project by participating in several awareness-raising activities both at the UAB and across Catalonia.
The closing event included the presence of political representatives, international organisations and networks of women committed to this cause. The main goal was to present the conclusions of two years of raising awareness, training and advocacy towards the elimination of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), as well as highlighting different strategies and proposals to strengthen the fight against this practice in Europe.
The event began with speeches by MEPs Alessandra Moretti, member of the Italian Democratic Party and host of the event, Hélen Fritzon, from the Swedish Social Democratic Party and Carolina Morace, from the Italian party 5 Star Movement, as well as representatives of civil society such as End FGM European Network and Action Aid, Diaspora Vote and AEGEE Brussels. The action plans of the collaborating organisations Fundazione Alberto della Vita (Italy), Himilio (Netherlands), Akidwa (Ireland), Associação para o Planeamento de Familia (APF-Portugal) and Fundació Autònoma Solidària (FAS), which has led awareness-raising, training and advocacy initiatives involving students, lecturers and technical staff of the UAB, as well as young people from across Catalonia, activists from communities affected by FGM, and organisations working against this practice, were then presented.
During the intervention of FAS representatives, the importance of recognising FGM as a global problem was highlighted, and the need to give prominence to women from affected communities was emphasised:
According to Angela Reyes, Bintou Mballo and Gal·la Gavilan, young change agents of the Chat Plus project, “We have the responsibility to constantly ask ourselves how we should participate in this movement to ensure that we are not in a place that does not belong to us. Women from affected communities must be the leaders, their voices must be heard and their experiences must be taken into account. We believe this is the only way to have a meaningful and ethical impact”.
The young people recounted their participation in the project, from the informative sessions to the creation of communication materials, such as a comic book and a video for social networks. In addition, they claimed the need to guarantee economic resources to facilitate effective youth participation in social initiatives such as this one.
Rosana Carvalho also presented the conclusions drawn from the Catalan and Spanish context, and declared a deep concern for the almost absolute lack of training on FGM among future professionals in the educational, social and health fields.
One of the main actions promoted by the FAS has been the creation of a "Guide for training and awareness-raising on FGM". The FAS representatives also emphasised the need to strengthen research to provide informed responses, and the importance of approaching FGM from an anti-racist and decolonial perspective.
“The fight against FGM cannot be used as an excuse for the reproduction of racism and for the criminalisation of migrant women. We have a long road ahead of us that will only be satisfactory if we truly incorporate anti-racist and decolonial feminism", said Rosana Carvalho, technician of Cooperation and EpJG of the FAS.
The closing event of the CHAT Plus project was a high point in the course of two years of collaborative and committed work to eradicate MFG in Europe. The conclusions presented and the proposals formulated delimit the path to continue working on prevention, victim support and awareness of this practice with a focus on human rights and racial and gender justice.