[LESS INFO] 0 VIEWS | ADDED 00:00:40 02/08/10
http://www.unicef.org/wcaro/2009_3911.html
Bamako, Mali, 4 February, 2010 - It is estimated that 85 per cent of women in Mali have undergone some form of Female Genital Mutilation or Cutting (FGM/C). 77 per cent of girls undergo the harmful traditional practice before their fifth birthday.
UNICEF Mali supports social and behavioural change using innovative and participatory approaches like theatre-forum and the digital mobile cinema. Together with our partners, we bring communities together and get them talking.
Cinma Numrique Ambulant (CNA), a national NGO partner, travels from village to village in remote areas of the country.
The mobile cinema team, along with health workers, set up an outdoor screen to show entertaining and educational films, encouraging communities to talk openly about the health of children and women. Once trust has been established, FGM/C is openly discussed with the men and women of the community.
In Kayes, out of 41 villages covered by CNA from June to August 2009, 12 have declared they will ban the practice. An additional 12 villages reached by UNICEF-sponsored radio programmes in the region have also declared an end to FGM/C.
