During COVID-19, FGM is on the rise
UNICEF advocates against FGM while facing dramatic increase of cases during the pandemic
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In the village of Al-Atwani in Aswan, 25 women sit in a large, well-ventilated place maintaining physical distancing. They're listening to an info-session on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and its consequences.
Between November 2020 and January 2021, more than 6,000 women attended such sessions in the villages of Aswan, Assiut, Qena and Sohag. This comes within the framework of the "Safer Communities for Children" project, which is implemented by the Childhood and Development Association in Assiut (ACDA).
During the COVID-19 pandemic, incidences of violence against children and harmful practices increased dramatically in the villages of Upper Egypt. In response, part of this program focuses on encouraging community members, and especially young girls, to report various cases of violence against children in general - and on girls' mutilation and child marriage in particular - by contacting the Child Protection Committees in their districts and the Child Helpline (16000).In this photo essay, we watch glimpses of that session and the reactions its attendees.
This activity is within the framework of the USAID program for girls' empowerment and the global joint program between UNICEF and the UNFPA to combat FGM. The Joint Programme is generously supported by the Governments of Austria, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, AECID (Spain), Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States of America, as well as the European Union.
