Molly Melching & the Women of Senegal

Nominated by: Amie Ritchie, a former Tostan volunteer

Thanks to all who posted their questions and comments for Molly and the women of Senegal; we'll post their responses as soon as we get them back from Senegal. Subscribe to Perspectives to make sure you get an email when the full chat is online.

Molly Melching and the women of Malicounda Bambara at the 10-year anniversary celebration in August 2007. © Tostan

In August 2007, women's and human rights advocates worldwide celebrated a remarkable 10-year anniversary. A decade earlier, the village of Malicounda Bambara became the first Senegalese community to abandon the practice of Female Genital Cutting (FGC), a centuries-old tradition that marks the passage of a girl into adulthood, but also causes immense suffering -- and sometimes even death -- for the young girls on whom it is imposed.

Since 1997, 2,336 villages in Senegal, 298 in Guinea, and 23 in Burkina Faso, as well as villages from Sudan and Mali have joined the women of Malicounda Bambara in abandoning the practice. But 3 million girls -- most under the age of 15 -- still undergo the practice each year.

Nearly half of all Senegalese villages known to practice the custom have given it up in the past 10 years. And 2007 saw new progress towards ending FGC in Mali, Burkina Faso, Kenya, Egypt, and Eritrea.

Molly Melching and her grassroots organization, Tostan, played a large role in inspiring and empowering many of these women and men to come to terms with such a socially and culturally challenging issue.

Melching founded Tostan, which means "breakthrough" or "spread of knowledge" in Wolof, to "[help] African communities...take charge of their own development through literacy and management skills."

A "tipping point" may be nearing
on FGC, Molly explains in this
video from West Africa.

Tostan approaches the issue of FGC in an absolutely non-judgmental manner, educating willing villagers about topics such as the universal human rights to health and freedom from all forms of violence, and then allowing communities to make their own, informed decisions.

Namely, "In sessions on health, they learn about the potential immediate and long-term harmful consequences of the practice and discuss ways to prevent these health problems in the future."

Tostan also dispatches volunteers and encourages educated villagers to travel locally and spread their knowledge, a method that gives whole regions the opportunity to deliberate on whether they would like to abandon the practice of FGC.

Rooted in the belief that initiating social change requires a strong understanding of local culture [pdf], Melching's organization teaches "democracy, human rights, problem-solving, hygiene, health, literacy, and management skills in an empowering, non-directive way, using positive African traditions such as theater, stories, proverbs, poetry, song, dialogue, and consensus building."

"Molly has empowered Malicounda Bambara and thousands of other communities in West Africa to stand up for themselves and for their communities."
- Amie Ritchie, who nominated Melching

The educational process concludes with the village making a public declaration to end FGC, which Melching describes as a "happy and joyful event."

"Molly Melching has lived and worked in Senegal for over 33 years and has dedicated her life to education and development in Africa," says Amie Ritchie, who is a former Tostan volunteer and nominated Melching and the women of Senegal for the Person of 2007 award. "Through her work, Molly has empowered Malicounda Bambara and thousands of other communities in West Africa to stand up for themselves and for their communities."

Tostan has been widely recognized this past year and was awarded two international prizes in 2007, one for its pioneering work in literacy and one for its ability to relieve human suffering, Ritchie notes. "However, both Molly Melching, a woman who defers any and all recognition to the populations she serves, and the women of Malicounda Bambara have yet to be singled out for their amazing achievements."

Click here for the latest OneWorld articles on FGC, or stay up to date with the latest on women's issues worldwide from OneWorld's "Gender Matters" edition of Perspectives online magazine. You can subscribe to our RSS feed on gender there, too.

Discover Tostan's approach to community-led development in the Gambia:

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Molly Melching & the women of Senegal and West Africa

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