THE move towards eradicating female genital mutilation in Senegal (Cape Times Second Opinion, June 1) comes as great news, especially considering that communities are being educated about the practice and are making the decision for themselves to stop this inhumane ritual.
Female genital mutilation is physically destructive and puts the girl's health in jeopardy.
But just as disturbing is the fact that it is the ultimate symbol of female oppression. Girls must undergo genital cutting in order to be considered for marriage and their perceived "value" dramatically decreases if they have not undergone the procedure.
This highlights how women are seen as commodities, and are not valued as individuals.
Although the practice of female genital mutilation in South Africa is not as widespread as in other African nations, there is still an issue with the status of girls and women in this country.
Girls in South Africa face the threat of rape and abuse, and many are still illiterate when they matriculate. They then grow up to be subjected to domestic violence, and are considerably more likely to be HIV positive.
Perhaps a lesson could be learnt from the developments in Senegal. To correct the injustices in this country that largely have been brought about through a culture of patriarchy, there needs to be serious, long-term public education about gender equality with a particular focus on the power relations between men and women.
South Africans deserve to be educated about gender issues to ensure the equality and non-discrimination that the Constitution articulates.
South Africa sees itself as a leader on the continent, but there is a great deal we can learn from what is happening in other African nations.
STEPHANIE WULF
INTER, WOMEN'S MEDIA WATCH
SOUTHERN AFRICAN MEDIA AND GENDER INSTITUTE
CAPE TOWN
First published in Cape Times, 3 June 2010
- Media Monitoring 2010
- Women! Turn up the Volume!
- Homeweek
- GenMeDem Training
SAMGI is hosting the next Southern African media monitoring project, from Monday 30 August - Sunday 26 September. We have participants from Lesotho, Madagascar, Mozambique, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Women! Turn up the Volume trains communication officers from various NGOs and CBOs in developing and producing low tech media products (newsletters, banners, t-shirts, posters, etc.) to assist in communicating messages specifically during campaigns.
Part of the SAMGI tradition is to have all her staff members gather in one place for a week per month. During this week we focus on staff development initiatives. Themes for the upcoming homeweeks are Strategic Planning. The next home week is 27th September - 1st October.
Training sessions to assist NGOs and CBOs in using the media to communicate with their target groups and beneficiaries. The course focuses on Gender, Media and Democracy and draws from the experiences and needs of the participants attending in addition to the prepared training programme.
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