In 2010 Uganda adopted a national law against Female Genital Mutilation and Cutting (FGM/C). Acceleration of the implementation for this law is much needed, since several communities in Karamoja region in Uganda still practice FGM/C. Girls between the ages of 11-14 are still being cut.
“Most of the girls are only informed about the positive side of FGM/C, and parents do not disclose that the practice is illegal, painful and belittling to the life of a girl child,” said Peter Obonyo Omwony from MAZIDEP, a local based organisation that mobilizes communities against FGM/C.
As one of the ways of creating awareness about the dangers of FGM/C, the organisation chose to implement a video show project in schools to show the consequences and reality girls go through during FGM/C and the consequences thereafter.
The video is shown to primary school children who are most vulnerable to the practise. At the end of the screening a frank discussion enables the students to talk about the negative consequences of FGM. This empowers them and enables them to become peer educators in their community.
