In Mali, Grocer Wages War on FGM from His Closet
In Mali, Grocer Wages War on FGM from His Closet
This tireless fighter told a contingent of visitors that if we wanted to truly engage in the struggle, we must see FGM take place. Then he showed us a video on his computer.
http://womensenews.org/sites/default/files/upload/30606/(Sorensen)%20Anti-FGM%20group.jpg
Members of the Northwestern Access to Health team with community partners and former traditional cutters in Douentza.
Credit: Aly Bocoum
(WOMENSENEWS)-- Siaka Traore wages war from a closet. The closet, which doubles as his office, is the back room of an open air storefront in the Djiguisseme neighborhood of Bamako, the capital of Mali. The courtyard itself has reverted to the pastoral, with goats and chickens nosing for scraps among the weeds. But the closet is outfitted for a 21st century battle.
Traore is director of a Malian nongovernmental organization called Sini Sanuman, or "A Healthy Tomorrow" in English. Sini Sanuman is mounting a tireless effort to end all forms of violence against women in Mali – most importantly, female genital mutilation, or FGM. At 89 percent, Mali has one of the highest frequencies of FGM in the world.
Traore comes to the fight from an interesting direction. His mother was a traditional cutter. When he was a boy, two girls died after being cut by his mother and Traore asked her why that was so. She told him it was due to witchcraft. That stayed with him for many years.
When he grew up, he became a merchant and owned a grocery store. One day, an American woman, Susan McLucas, walked into his grocery store. She was carrying posters about FGM and he asked her what they were. She talked to him about the dangers of FGM: how the blade can transmit HIV and how FGM can cause tetanus, other infections or hemorrhage. After she left, Traore put up her posters all over his store. Because of the posters, people came to him with their questions about FGM and he became known in the community as a wise advocate against the practice.
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http://womensenews.org/story/genital-mutilation/150529/in-mali-grocer-wages-war-fgm-his-closet