Two and a half years ago I wrote a post on the impressive results that community-oriented campaigns to fight female genital mutilation were having in Ethiopia. Now, again via David Slutsky over at the Feminist Philosophers, I learn that Bogaletch Gebre, the founder of Kembatti Mentti Gezzimma (KMG, the organization leading the campaigns), has been awarded the 2012-2013 King Baudouin African Development Prize (arguably, a legacy of Belgium's colonial past, but now put to good use).
In this vein, Boge [Bogaletch Gebre’s nickname] organizes community conversations to confront culturally entrenched taboo subjects and challenge harmful customary practices such as Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and bridal abductions. By implementing this approach across communities in Ethiopia, Boge and KMG lowered the incidence of FGM in ten years from 100 percent to less than 3 percent of newborn girls in the areas where they work. (My emphasis)
Given these results, the prize is more than well-deserved. (Following the motto ‘good news is worth spreading’ (especially at times when we are confronted with NSA-related horror and such like), I figured it might be good to remind us all that there are still reasons to rejoice now and then.)
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