Dutch NGO Joins Washington Panel Discussion Commemorating the Tenth Anniversary of the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation

Dutch NGO Joins Washington Panel Discussion Commemorating the Tenth Anniversary of the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation

Jessie Hexspoor from Hivos with Kurdish women.

February 6 marked the tenth observance of the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation, an internationally recognized day to foster awareness of the devastating effects of FGM/C and renew the call for the abandonment of this harmful traditional practice.

To commemorate the International Day of Zero Tolerance, Ambassador Verveer lead a live webchat panel discussion with experts and practitioners from around the world to highlight successful efforts to address FGM/C, as well as to draw attention to the practice outside of Africa since it is known to also occur in the Middle East, Asia, Latin America, and Diaspora communities.  

Among the panel experts was Jessie Hexspoor of the nongovernmental organization (NGO) Hivos in the Netherlands, the Honorable Amina Salum Ali, Ambassador of the African Union to the United States; Dr. Nawal Nour of the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, MA; and Bakary Tamba of the NGO Tostan in Senegal.  Ms. Hexspoor spoke of her organization’s efforts to fight FGM in Iraq and the Middle East, as well as practices to help raise awareness in women. 

It is estimated that 100 to 140 million women around the world have undergone this brutal procedure and three million girls are at risk every year.  In December 2012, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution titled, “Intensifying Global Efforts for the Elimination of Female Genital Mutilation,” calling for international efforts to eliminate the harmful traditional practice.  Last year, Secretary Clinton hosted the first-ever event at the U.S. Department of State to commemorate the International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation.