Plan International: Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting Is Violation Against Girls And Women’s Rights
07 February, 2019
KHARTOUM (Sudanow) - Plan International, Sudan, issued the following press release on the occasion of the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), 6 February:
Plan International, as a child rights’ based organization, has shown over many years of field
experience and research, that at all stages of their early lives, girls up to adulthood face distinct
disadvantages that are directly related to discrimination and abuse in its different forms – all simply due to
their gender.
A new research report by Plan International “Girls’ Rights are Human Rights” – reveals the extent to which
international law overlooks girls’ rights, effectively rendering them invisible. It shows that age and genderneutral
approaches are shaping international law-making, thereby shifting attention away from girls.
Millions of girls are disproportionately disadvantaged in education, health, protection, employment
opportunity, and family life - particularly in the world’s poorest countries. These challenges become more
and more severe where factors such as poverty, ethnicity, disability, conflict/displacement, migration
overlap.
Over 200 million girls and women alive today have undergone some form of FGM/C. Although primarily
concentrated in 30 countries in Africa and the Middle East, FGM/C is a universal problem and is also
practiced in some countries in Asia and Latin America.
Plan International Sudan research shows that FGM/C is still widely practiced in Sudan, affecting 32% of
girls aged 0 – 14, and 86% of women aged 15-49. This is violence in its purest form, in contravention of
long-established and universally recognized girls’ rights, and has no justification – FGM/C is wrong and it
must stop.
Plan International has globally adopted its five year strategy 2017-2022, which Plan International Sudan
Country Strategy strongly ties to, with our global target of reaching 100 million girls to be able to Learn,
Lead, Decide and Thrive. Plan’s Girls Get Equal campaign has reached over 58 million girls worldwide to
date, including work to eradicate these practices.
“Plan International Sudan is pledging a strategic partnership with the government of Sudan, CSOs and UN
agencies to stop FGM/C practice in Sudan. We believe we can end FGM and Child Marriage in a
generation. If a girl knows her rights, and her family and community know the risks, cases will decrease
over time. Girls deserve the full protection of their families, communities and governments. When a girl can
grow up safe, happy and healthy with full enjoyment of her rights, she can grow up to reach her full potential.
It is a matter of awareness raising and the commitment to act” – Munier Mohammed, Plan International
Sudan Country Director
Plan International is calling on the international community to make sure girls are visible and to ensure they
are heard. The organization is advocating for a radical change in the UN and international processes, in
order to bridge the gap between women’s and children’s rights where girls’ specific needs are currently
ignored.
Plan International Sudan office is supporting all Sudanese children, especially girls. Through working and
coordinating with the National Council of Child Welfare (NCCW) and CSOS to improve the situation of the
girl child and enforce the criminalization of FGM/C, Plan International Sudan (and in partnership with the
Sudanese Women Parliamentarians) continues to successfully support North Kordofan, Northern state, Al
Gadarif state, Red Sea state, Northern State of Sudan to endorse the law.
Now, we are working with partners and the legislative council to similarly enforce the law in Kassala, White
Nile and North Darfur (where the law draft is under review, pending final revision and endorsement by state
legislative councils).
Plan International Sudan values our partnership with the NCCW and State Council of Child Welfare, and is
committed to continue working on (national and state) law enforcement, and to support the development of
a mechanism that will track the implementation of the laws at household level in the future.
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