Mwalimu George Ngwane explains why he decided to produce a film on female genital mutilation.
Interviewed by Nkeze Mbonwoh (Cameroon Tribune)
Cameroon Tribune: What prompted you to produce this telefilm on Female Genital Mutilation called "Nkuma"?
GeorgeNgwane: Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is an age-old practice that is perpetuated in many parts fo the world. In Africa alone, there are 27 countries that have been battling with the controversial practice that not only draws a dichotomy between traditionalists and modernists but has placed Cameroon in the storm of practices that impair women's wellbeing. As a matter of fact, a UN report estimates that about 20% of women in Cameroon go through a form of Female Genital Mutilation called infibulations. Certain areas of the South West and North provinces have been cited as championing this practice.
Click here to print or download complete interview in PDF format
Dear Editor
The film on FGM, "Cutting Silence", by Reina-Marie Loader can be acquired by contacting Cinéma Humain via their website: www.cinemahumain.com and then following the links to "Contact us". A summary, photos as well as a trailer of the film can also be found on this website.
I hope this helps.
KvdB
Posted by: Kees van den Brom | February 23, 2008 at 02:55 PM
Dear Africaphonie,
Can you help me get order details for the following films(CD or DVDs)on FGM/C? I work for an NGO in Sierra Leone and want to order audio visual resources for a resource centre on FGM/C:
1. "Female Circumcision'Belliefs and Misbeliefs" by Inter-African Committee
2. "Nkuma" by Mwalimu George Ngwane
3. "Cutting Silence" by Reina-Marie Loader
4. "female Genital Cutting(FGC) An Introduction" by Marianne Sarkis
5. "The Right to Feminity: Fighting Female Circumcision in Africa Today" by films for Humanities and Sciences
6. "FemaleCircucision: Human Rites" by Films for Humanities and Sciences
Posted by: Grace Harman | February 15, 2008 at 09:33 AM
ERITREA: Government outlaws female genital mutilation
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FGM is a violation of human rights, according to legal experts
NAIROBI, 5 April 2007 (IRIN) - The Eritrean government has banned female genital mutilation (FGM), saying the practice was painful and put women at risk of life-threatening health problems.
A government proclamation published on Wednesday said it was illegal for anyone to subject a person to FGM or provide tools to anyone who intended to carry out the practice. Failing to inform authorities on intended plans to subject anyone to FGM also constituted an offence, according to the legal notice.
The government and civil society had in February expressed optimism that efforts to combat FGM were bearing fruit, saying the campaign against the practice had gained support in rural areas where it was most common.
"We do not have the statistics yet, but we have seen a positive response, with even village councils coming up with their own provisional laws with the people's consensus to discourage the practice," Dehab Suleiman, the head of information and research at the National Union of Eritrean Women, told IRIN.
Suleiman said FGM prevalence rates in Eritrea were estimated at 94 percent, but the practice was expected to decline in the near future because an increasing number of parents were choosing not to have their daughters subjected to FGM. We have seen a positive change
FGM involves the cutting and/or removal of the clitoris and other vaginal tissue, often under unsanitary conditions. It is practised in at least 28 countries globally. The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) estimates that up to 140 million girls and women around the world have undergone some form of FGM.
It is practised extensively in Africa, and also in parts of the Middle East and among immigrant communities around the world. According to medical experts, it causes physical and psychological complications, as well as heightening the risk of HIV/AIDS when unsterilised instruments are used.
At least 16 African countries have banned the practice, and the Maputo Protocol, an African regional document that prohibits and condemns FGM, came into force in November 2005.
Themes: (IRIN) Gender Issues, (IRIN) Human Rights
[ENDS]
Report can be found online at:
http://www.irnnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=71199
Posted by: issa | April 09, 2007 at 02:23 PM