Communities in Guinea Pledge to End Practice of Female Genital Cutting (FGC)

	"Tostan gave us the courage to keep our daughters safe and in school until marriage," said Lamarana Barry, who has seven daughters and two sons. Source: Richard Stirba, USAID/Guinea

Representatives of 150 villages in the Fouta Djalon region of Guinea pledged to discontinue the traditional practices of FGC and early marriage, culminating two years of work by the non-governmental organization (NGO) Tostan with support from the USAID/Guinea Mission.

The Tostan project began in October 2002 with a grant from the Mission’s Democracy and Governance section to promote good governance (democracy, human rights and responsibilities), problem-solving skills, and hygiene and health. In this approach, participants first learn about democracy and human rights, then how to apply them concretely in the area of hygiene and health. During the hygiene and health modules they learned how FGC can lead to infection (through the transmission of germs), hemorrhaging, and problems during childbirth. When the Democracy and Governance funding ended, USAID/Guinea’s health office took on funding responsibilities, realizing that excellent results were forthcoming.

• Read more about how the project culminated in a day of celebration and declaration
  • Related Article: Communities choose health over tradition

Tostan’s Village Empowerment Program uses a holistic, integrated approach to democracy, human rights, problem solving, and health education, all necessary to ending FGC and early marriage. The underlying philosophy is that participants must have a deep knowledge of human rights and health issues in order to adequately defend the position they take in ending harmful traditional practices, particularly at this point in time when large numbers of women are still practicing FGC.

• Read more about USAID's work to eradicate female genital cutting