Religious Leaders from the Afar Region of Ethiopia Issue Declaration to End the Practice of Female Circumcision

In this announcement from Nazareth, Ethiopia, thirty religious leaders from the Afar region, representatives from the Office of the Supreme Sharia Courts, Islamic Affairs Bureau, and the Women’s Affairs Bureau of Ethiopia issued a declaration to end the practice of female circumcision, also called female genital mutilation (FGM). The declaration was issued at the end of a Population Media Center (PMC) workshop held from July 30 to August 1 in 2007, to discuss the issue of female circumcision and what religious leaders can do to help eradicate the practice. The PMC workshop was the first part of a "whole society" strategy to eradicate the practice of FGM in Ethiopia, and the Afar region in particular. The workshop was funded by Save the Children Norway. PMC uses a "whole society" strategy to strengthen the impact of communication initiatives; the strategy in Ethiopia includes a radio serial drama with a storyline about the risks and negative consequences of FGM.

According to the press release on this announcement:

"The Ethiopian government’s population, health, and women’s policies all promote eradication of harmful traditional practices, including FGM; yet social acceptance of the practice is still strong. Regardless of the fact that FGM is not religiously affiliated, many people relate FGM with religion....Sheik Mohammed Awael Hayat, President of the Supreme Sharia Court of the Afar region, gave opening remarks at the workshop. In his speech he declared that FGM was an inhumane practice and that the daughters of Prophet Mohammed had not been circumcised; therefore FGM has no religious grounds and should be discontinued. He asked all areas to eliminate all forms of female circumcision....The religious leaders discussed the issue of FGM at length and issued an action plan to eradicate the practice."

On August 1st the leaders came together to issue the declaration, including the following points:

1. Condemning all harmful traditional practices and female circumcision, of all types, as they do not have religious ground and support.
2. Committing themselves to educate the public in mosques, schools, and other convenient places about the baseless belief that female circumcision is a religious obligation.
3. Giving the responsibility of follow-up of the declaration to the Islamic Affairs Bureau, Office of the Supreme Sharia Courts, and the Women’s Affairs Office of the region, and pledging, as religious leaders, to do all in their capacities to mitigate and ultimately eliminate FGM.
4. Calling upon all government sector bureaus, and particularly health, education, culture, and tourism bureaus, to join their efforts in the elimination of these harmful traditional practices.
5. Expressing appreciation to PMC and Save the Children Norway for their initiative in conducting research and developing a four-year plan to work in the Afar region, as well as for organising the awareness-creation workshop for religious leaders.

For further information please contact Katie Elmore at elmore@populationmedia.org