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States Parties
shall take all appropriate measures ... to modify the social and cultural
patterns of conduct
of men and
women, with a view to achieving the elimination ofprejudices and customary and
all other
practices which are based on the idea of the inferiority or
the superiority of either of
the sexes or on
stereotyped roles for men and women.
CONVENTION ON THE
ELIMINATION OF ALL FORMS OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN (art. 5
(a)),
adopted by General Assembly resolution 34/180 of 18 December
1979.
The Charter of the
United Nations includes among its basic principles the achievement of
international cooperation in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights
and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language
or religion (Art. 1, para. 3).
In 1948, three
years after the adoption of the Charter, the General Assembly adopted the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights,(1) which has
served as guiding principles on human rights and fundamental freedoms in the
constitutions and laws of many of the Member States of the United Nations. The
Universal Declaration prohibits all forms of discrimination based on sex and
ensures the right to life, liberty and security of person; it recognizes
equality before the law and equal protection against any discrimination in
violation of the Declaration.
Many international
legal instruments on human rights further reinforce individual rights, and also
protect-and prohibit discrimination against-specific groups, in particular
women. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against
Women, for example, had been ratified by 136 States as of January 1995. The
Convention obliges States parties, in general, to "pursue by all appropriate
means and without delay a policy of eliminating discrimination against women"
(art. 2). It reaffirms the equality of human rights for women and men in society
and in the family; it obliges States parties to take action against the social
causes of women's inequality; and it calls for the elimination of laws,
stereotypes, practices and prejudices that impair women's well-being.
Traditional
cultural practices reflect values and beliefs held by members of a community for
periods often spanning generations. Every social grouping in the world has
specific traditional cultural practices and beliefs, some of which are
beneficial to all members, while others are harmful to a specific group, such as
women. These harmful traditional practices include female genital mutilation
(FGM); forced feeding of women; early marriage; the various taboos or practices
which prevent women from controlling their own fertility; nutritional taboos and
traditional birth practices; son preference and its implications for the status
of the girl child; female infanticide; early pregnancy; and dowry price. Despite
their harmful nature and their violation of international human rights laws,
such practices persist because they are not questioned and take on an aura of
morality in the eyes of those practising them.
The international
community has become aware of the need to achieve equality between the sexes and
of the fact that an equitable society cannot be attained if fundamental human
rights of half of human society, i.e. women, continue to be denied and violated.
However, the bleak reality is that the harmful traditional practices focused on
in this Fact Sheet have been performed for male benefit. Female sexual control
by men, and the economic and political subordination of women, perpetuate the
inferior status of women and inhibit structural and attitudinal changes
necessary to eliminate gender inequality.
As early as the
1950s, United Nations specialized agencies and human rights bodies began
considering the question of harmful traditional practices affecting the health
of women, in particular female genital mutilation. But these issues have not
received consistent broader consideration, and action to bring about any
substantial change has been slow or superficial.
A number of reasons
are given for the persistence of traditional practices detrimental to the health
and status of women, including the fact that, in the past, neither the
Governments concerned nor the international community challenged the sinister
implications of such practices, which violate the rights to health, life,
dignity and personal integrity. The international community remained wary about
treating these issues as a deserving subject for international and national
scrutiny and action. Harmful practices such as female genital mutilation were
considered sensitive cultural issues falling within the spheres of women and the
family. For a long time, Governments and the international community had not
expressed sympathy and understanding for women who, due to ignorance or
unawareness of their rights, endured pain, suffering and even death inflicted on
themselves and their female children.
Despite the
apparent slowness of action to challenge and eliminate harmful traditional
practices, the activities of human rights bodies in this field have, in recent
years, resulted in noticeable progress. Traditional practices have become a
recognized issue concerning the status and human rights of women and female
children. The slogan "Women's Rights are Human Rights", adopted at the World
Conference on Human Rights in Vienna in 1993, as well as the Declaration on the
Elimination of Violence against Women, adopted by the General Assembly the same
year, captured the reality of the status accorded to women. These issues have
been further emphasized in the reports of the Special Rapporteur on harmful
traditional practices, Mrs. Halima Embarek Warzazi, appointed in 1988, and in
the draft Platform for Action for the Fourth World Conference on Women, to be
held in September 1995.
The Special
Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, Ms. Radhika
Coomaraswamy, appointed by the Commission on Human Rights in 1994, has also
examined all forms of traditional practices referred to in this Fact Sheet, as
well as other practices, including virginity tests, foot binding, female
infanticide and dowry deaths, all of which violate female dignity. In her
preliminary report, the Special Rapporteur pointed out that
blind adherence to
these practices and State inaction with regard to these customs and traditions
have made possible large-scale violence against women. States are enacting new
laws and regulations with regard to the development of a modern economy and
modern technology and to developing practices which suit a modern democracy, yet
it seems that in the area of women's rights change is slow to be accepted.
(E/CN.4/1995/42, para. 67.)
The harmful
traditional practices identified in this Fact Sheet are categorized as separate
issues; however, they are all consequences of the value placed on women and the
girl child by society. They persist in an environment where women and the girl
child have unequal access to education, wealth, health and employment.
In part I, the Fact Sheet identifies and analyses the background to harmful traditional practices, their causes, and their consequences for the health of women and the girl child. Part II reviews the action taken by United Nations organs and agencies, Governments and organizations (NGOs). The Conclusions highlight the drawbacks in the implementation of the practical steps identified by the United Nations, NGOs and women's organizations.
A. Female
genital mutilation(2)
Female genital
mutilation (FGM), or female circumcision as it is sometimes erroneously referred
to, involves surgical removal of parts or all of the most sensitive female
genital organs. It is an age-old practice which is perpetuated in many
communities around the world simply because it is customary. FGM forms an
important part of the rites of passage ceremony for some communities, marking
the coming of age of the female child. It is believed that, by mutilating the
female's genital organs, her sexuality will be controlled; but above all it is
to ensure a woman's virginity before marriage and chastity thereafter. In fact,
FGM imposes on women and the girl child a catalogue of health complications and
untold psychological problems. The practice of FGM violates, among other
international human rights laws, the right of the child to the "enjoyment of the
highest attainable standard of health", as laid down in article 24 (paras. 1 and
3) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The origin of FGM
has not yet been established, but records show that the practice predates
Christianity and Islam in practising communities of today. In ancient Rome,
metal rings were passed through the labia minora of slaves to prevent
procreation; in medieval England, metal chastity belts were worn by women to
prevent promiscuity during their husbands' absence; evidence from mummified
bodies reveals that, in ancient Egypt, both excision and infibulation were
performed, hence Pharaonic circumcision; in tsarist Russia, as well as
nineteenth-century England, France and America, records indicate the practice of
clitoridectomy. In England and America, FGM was performed on women as a "cure"
for numerous psychological ailments.
The age at which
mutilation is carried out varies from area to area. FGM is performed on infants
as young as a few days old, on children from 7 to 10 years old, and on
adolescents. Adult women also undergo the operation at the time of marriage.
Since FGM is performed on infants as well as adults, it can no longer be seen as
marking the rites of passage into adulthood, or as ensuring virginity.
Among the types of
surgical operation on the female genital organs listed below, there are many
variations, performed throughout Africa, Asia, the Middle East, the Arabian
Peninsula, Australia and Latin America.
Types of
surgical forms
(a)
Circumcision or Sunna ("traditional") circumcision: This involves the removal of
the prepuce and the tip of the clitoris. This is the only operation which,
medically, can be likened to male circumcision.
(b) Excision
or clitoridectomy: This involves the removal of the clitoris, and often also the
labia minora. It is the most common operation and is practised throughout
Africa, Asia, the Middle East and the Arabian Peninsula.
(c)
Infibulation or Pharaonic circumcision: This is the most severe operation,
involving excision plus the removal of the labia majora and the sealing of the
two sides, through stitching or natural fusion of scar tissue. What is left is a
very smooth surface, and a small opening to permit urination and the passing of
menstrual blood. This artificial opening is sometimes no larger than the head of
a match.
Another form of
mutilation which has been reported is introcision, practised specifically by the
Pitta-Patta aborigines of Australia. When a girl reaches puberty, the whole
tribe-both sexes-assembles. The operator, an elderly man, enlarges the vaginal
orifice by tearing it downward with three fingers bound with opossum string. In
other districts, the perineum is split with a stone knife. This is usually
followed by compulsory sexual intercourse with a number of young men.
It is reported that
introcision has been practised in eastern Mexico and in Brazil. In Peru, in
particular among the Conibos, a division of the Pano Indians in the north-east,
an operation is performed in which, as soon as a girl reaches maturity, she is
intoxicated and subjected to mutilation in front of her community. The operation
is performed by an elderly woman, using a bamboo knife. She cuts around the
hymen from the vaginal entrance and severs the hymen from the labia, at the same
time exposing the clitoris. Medicinal herbs are applied, followed by the
insertion into the vagina of a slightly moistened penis-shaped object made of
clay.
Like all other
harmful traditional practices, FGM is performed by women, with a few exceptions
(in Egypt, men are known to perform the operation). In most rural settings
throughout Africa, the operation is accompanied with celebrations and often
takes place away from the community at a special hidden place. The operation is
carried out by women (excisors) who have acquired their "skills" from their
mothers or other female relatives; they are often also the community's
traditional birth attendants.
The type of
operation to be performed is decided by the girl's mother or grandmother
beforehand and payment is made to the excisor before, during and after the
operation, to ensure the best service. This payment, partly in kind and partly
in cash, is a vital source of livelihood for the excisors.
The conditions
under which these operations take place are often unhygienic and the instruments
used are crude and unsterilized. A kitchen knife, a razor-blade, a piece of
glass or even a sharp fingernail are the tools of the trade. These instruments
are used repeatedly on numerous girls, thus increasing the risk of
blood-transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS.
The operation takes
between 10 and 20 minutes, depending on its nature; in most cases, anaesthetic
is not administered. The child is held down by three or four women while the
operation is done. The wound is then treated by applying mixtures of local
herbs, earth, cow-dung, ash or butter, depending on the skills of the excisor.
If infibulation is performed, the child's legs are bound together to impair
mobility for up to 40 days. If the child dies from complications, the excisor is
not held responsible; rather, the death is attributed to evil spirits or fate.
Throughout South-East Asia and urban African communities, FGM is becoming
increasingly medicalized.
FGM is known to be
practised in at least 25 countries in Africa. Infibulation is practised in
Djibouti, Egypt, some parts of Ethiopia, Mali, Somalia and the northern part of
the Sudan. Excision and circumcision occur in parts of Benin, Burkina Faso,
Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, the Gambia, the
northern part of Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Mauritania,
Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo, Uganda and parts of the United Republic of
Tanzania.
Outside Africa, a
certain form of female genital mutilation exists in Indonesia, Malaysia and
Yemen. Recent information has revealed that the practice also exists in some
European countries and Australia among immigrant communities.
FGM is a custom or
tradition synthesized over time from various values, especially religious and
cultural values. The reasons for maintaining the practice include religion,
custom, decreasing the sexual desire of women, hygiene, aesthetics, facility of
sexual relations, fertility, etc. In general, it can be said that those who
preserve the practice are largely women who live in traditional societies in
rural areas. Most of these women follow tradition passively.
In the countries
where the practice exists, most women believe that, as good Muslims, for
example, they have to undergo the operation. In order to be clean and proper,
fit for marriage, female circumcision is a precondition. Among the Bambara in
Mali, it is believed that, if the clitoris touches the head of a baby being
born, the child will die. The clitoris is seen as the male characteristic of the
woman; in order to enhance her femininity, this male part of her has to be
removed. Among women in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Somalia and the Sudan, circumcision
is performed to reduce sexual desire and also to maintain virginity until
marriage. A circumcised woman is considered to be clean.
Establishing
identity and belongingness is another reason advanced for the perpetuation of
the practice. For example, in Liberia and Sierra Leone, groups of girls of 12
and 13 of the indigenous population undergo an initiation rite, conducted by an
older woman "Sowie". This involves education on how to be a good wife or
co-wife, the use of herbal medicine and the "secrets" of female society. It also
involves the ritual of circumcision.
Health and
psychological implications
The effects of
female genital mutilation have short-term and long-term implications.
Haemorrhage, infection and acute pain are the immediate consequences. Keloid
formation, infertility as a result of infection, obstructed labour and
psychological complications are identified as later effects. In rural areas
where untrained traditional birth attendants perform the operations,
complications resulting from deep cuts and infected instruments can cause the
death of the child.
Most physical
complications result from infibulation, although cataclysmic haemorrhage can
occur during circumcision with the removal of the clitoris; accidental cuts to
other organs can also lead to heavy loss of blood. Acute infections are
commonplace when operations are carried out in unhygienic surroundings and with
unsterilized instruments. The application of traditional medicine can also lead
to infection, resulting in tetanus and general septicaemia. Chronic infection
can also lead to infertility and anaemia.
Haematocolpos, or
the inability to pass menstrual blood (because the remaining opening is often
too small), can lead to infection of other organs and also infertility.
Obstetric
complications are the most frequent health problem, resulting from vicious scars
in the clitoral zone after excision. These scars open during childbirth and
cause the anterior perineum to tear, leading to haemorrhaging that is often
difficult to stop. Infibulated women have to be opened, or deinfibulated, on
delivery of their child and it is common for them to be reinfibulated after each
delivery.
There has been
little research in the area of the psychological implications of FGM, but
evidence indicates that most children experience recurring nightmares.
In her recent book,
Cutting the Rose-Female Genital Mutilation: The Practice and its
Prevention,(3) Efua
Dorkenoo reports that some evidence of psychological effects is emerging among
the large immigrant communities now living in Europe, the Americas, Australia
and New Zealand. Teenagers, in particular, are having to live in two very
different cultures, where different values prevail. At school they move within
the very liberal setting of the Western culture; at home they have to conform to
values held by their parents. Some of these values often conflict. For some
teenagers this is proving to be problematic. Girls who have been genitally
mutilated have to come to terms with the fact that they are not like their
classmates. Mood swings and irritability, a constant state of depression, and
anxiety have all been noted among infibulated girls. A small number, upon
reaching the age of consent, are being deinfibulated without their parents'
knowledge and engaging in premarital relationships, thus validating the
reasoning behind their parents' wishes to have the operation performed.
There are also
reports of psychological and health problems suffered by women seeking medical
assistance in Western medical,,facilities due to lack of knowledge regarding
genital mutilation. Excised and infibulated women have special needs which have
been ignored or dealt with on a trial-and-error basis. In Western countries,
severe forms of FGM present challenges to midwives and obstetricians in
providing antenatal and post-natal care. For example, professionals need
training to know how to deliver infibulated women. The provision of health care
for women and girls who have been genitally mutilated should be appropriate and
sensitive to their needs. Health promotion work through women's health services
can develop appropriate information materials and actively contribute to
outreach work and awareness raising.
B. Son
preference and its implications for the status of the girl child
One of the
principal forms of discrimination and one which has far-reaching implications
for women is the preference accorded to the boy child over the girl child. This
practice denies the girl child good health, education, recreation, economic
opportunity and the right to choose her partner, violating her rights under
articles 2, 6, 12, 19, 24, 27 and 28 of the Convention on the Rights of the
Child.
Son preference
refers to a whole range of values and attitudes which are manifested in many
different practices, the common feature of which is a preference for the male
child, often with concomitant daughter neglect. It may mean that a female child
is disadvantaged from birth; it may determine the quality and quantity of
parental care and the extent of investment in her development; and it may lead
to acute discrimination, particularly in settings where resources are scarce.
Although neglect is the rule, in extreme cases son preference may lead to
selective abortion or female infanticide.
In many societies,
the family lineage is carried on by male children. The preservation of the
family name is guaranteed through the son(s). Except in a few countries (e.g.
Ethiopia), a girl takes her husband's family name, dropping that of her own
parents. The fear of losing a name prompts families to wish to have a son. Some
men marry a second or a third wife to be sure of having a male child. Among many
communities in Asia and Africa, sons perform burial rites for parents. Parents
with no male child do not expect to have an appropriate burial to "secure their
peace in the next world". In almost all religions, ceremonies are performed by
men. Priests, pastors, sheikhs and other religious leaders are men of great
status to whom society attaches great importance, and this important role for
men obliges parents to wish for a male child. Religious leaders have a major
involvement in the perpetuation of son preference.
Son preference is
universal and not unique to developing countries or rural areas. It is a
practice enshrined in the value systems of most societies. It thus dictates the
value judgements, expectations and behaviour of family members.
Son preference is a
transcultural phenomenon, more marked in Asian societies and historically rooted
in the patriarchal system. In certain countries in the Asian region, the
phenomenon is less prevalent than in others. Son preference is stronger in
countries where patriarchy and patriliny are more firmly rooted. Tribal
societies, which are matrilineal societies, tended to be more gender egalitarian
until the advent of settled agriculture.
In almost all
regions, the practice is rooted in culture and the economics of son preference,
these factors playing a major role in the low valuation and neglect of female
children. The practice of son preference emerged with the shift from subsistence
agriculture, which was primarily controlled by women, to settled agriculture,
which is primarily controlled by men. In the patrilineal landowning communities
with settled agriculture which are prevalent in the Asian region, the economic
obligations of sons towards parents are greater. The son is considered to be the
family pillar, who ensures continuity and protection of the family property.
Sons provide the workforce and have to bring in a bride-"an extra pair of
hands". Sons are the source of family income and have to provide for parents in
their old age. They are also the interpreters of religious teachings and the
performers of rituals, especially on the death of parents, which include feeding
a large number of people, sometimes several villages. As soldiers, sons protect
the community and hold political power.
Son preference in
the Asian region manifests itself either covertly or overtly. The birth of a son
is welcomed with celebration as an asset, whereas that of a girl is seen as a
liability, an impending economic drain. According to an Asian proverb, "bringing
up girls is like watering the neighbour's garden".
Psychological
and health consequences
The psychological
effect of son preference on women and the girl child is the internalization of
the low value accorded them by society. Scientific evidence of the deleterious
effect of son preference on the health of female children is scarce, but
abnormal sex ratios in infant and young child mortality rates, in nutritional
status indicators and even in population figures show that discriminatory
practices are widespread and have serious repercussions. Geographically, there
is often a close correspondence between the areas of strong son preference and
of health disadvantage for females.
The areas most
affected by the problem seem to be South Asia (Bangladesh, India, Nepal,
Pakistan), the Middle East (Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya,
Morocco, the Syrian Arab Republic, Tunisia, Turkey) and parts of Africa
(Cameroon, Liberia, Madagascar, Senegal). In Latin America, there is evidence of
abnormal sex ratios in mortality figures in Ecuador, Mexico, Peru and
Uruguay.
Discrimination in
the feeding and care of female infants and/or higher rates of morbidity and
malnutrition have been reported in most of the countries already listed and also
in Bolivia, Colombia, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Nigeria, the Philippines and
Saudi Arabia. More than two thirds of the world's population live in countries
where registration of death does not occur and many more live in countries where
death rates are not published by sex. Moreover, discrimination against girls has
to be extreme to emerge in mortality rates. For every growing girls who dies,
there are many whose health and potential for growth and development are
permanently impaired. Countless reports the world over have demonstrated that,
in societies where son preference is practised, the health of the female child
is adversely affected.
In some communities
in the Asian region where son preference is highly marked, efforts to
differentiate a female child from a male child through various socio-economic
norms and practices start as early as the foetal stage and continue throughout
the entire life cycle. In these communities, amniocentesis tests and sonography
for sex determination have resulted in the abortion of female foetuses. The
introduction and expansion of scientific methods of sex detection have led to a
revival of female foeticide and infanticide.
Education
Access to education
by itself is not enough to eliminate values held by society, for such values are
in most countries transmitted into educational curricula and textbooks. Women
are thus still depicted as passive and domestically oriented, while men are
depicted as dominant and as breadwinners.
Education does,
however, offer the female child an improved opportunity to be less dependent on
men in later life. It increases her prospects of obtaining work outside the
home. As laid down in articles 28 and 29 of the Convention on the Rights of the
Child, all children have the right to education, and the content of such
education should be directed to the development of the child's personality,
talents and mental and physical abilities to their fullest potential.
According to the
United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the expansion of educational
opportunities over the past several decades has clearly affected girls, although
this has not been a result of deliberate policy to reduce gender disparities in
educational access. Girls' education, measured by gross primary school enrolment
ratios, has improved substantially in the Middle East and North Africa region,
for example. Nevertheless, in 1990, the region still had 44 million illiterate
mothers, a large and increasing backlog left over from times of lower enrolment
levels. Differences in primary school enrolment levels for boys and girls and
competition between them are still very significant in a number of countries. In
countries where overall enrolment is much lower than desired, girls are
particularly disadvantaged.
Although in many
countries school drop-out rates are steadily falling, they continue to be higher
among girls than among boys. The reasons for the high drop-out rate among girls
are poverty, early marriage, helping parents with housework and agricultural
work, the distance of schools from homes, the high costs of schooling, parents'
illiteracy and indifference, and the lack of a positive educational climate.
Girls begin school very late and withdraw with the onset of puberty. Parents do
not see the benefits of girls' education because girls are given away in
marriage to serve the husband's family. Sons are given priority. In certain
countries, enrolment rates for girls have actually declined despite attempts to
increase them.
Recreation and
work opportunities
According to
article 31, paragraph 1, of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, States
parties "recognize the right of the child to rest and leisure, to engage in play
and recreational activities". However, from an early age, girls from rural and
poor urban homes are burdened with domestic tasks and child care, which leaves
them no time to play. Studies have shown that recreation plays a vital part in a
child's emotional and mental development. When time for play is found by girls,
it often takes place near the home. Young boys, however, have fewer demands made
of them and are allowed to engage in activities outside the home. The status of
girls is linked to that of women and their exploitation. A woman's work never
ends, especially in rural areas and in poor urban households.
The Convention on
the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women calls for the
elimination of discrimination against women in the field of employment, "in
order to ensure, on a basis of equality of men and women, the same rights" (art.
11, para. 1). It also calls upon States to ensure that women in rural areas have
access to agricultural credit and loans, marketing facilities, appropriate
technology and equal treatment in land and agrarian reform (art. 14, para. 2
(g)). Evidence indicates, however, that as girls grow older they
face discriminatory treatment in gaining access to economic opportunities. Major
inequalities persist in employment, access to credit, inheritance rights,
marriage laws and other socio-economic dispensations. Compared with men, women
have fewer opportunities for paid employment and less access to skill training
that would make such employment possible. Women are usually restricted to
low-paid and casual jobs, or to informal activities.
Landlessness has
increased among women, and the number of women cultivators has declined in some
regions, partly due to increased mechanization of agriculture. An increasing
number of women in most developing countries are occupied in the informal,
invisible sectors where national social and labour legislation on maternity
benefits, equal wages and crèche facilities does not apply.
C. Female
infanticide
Sex bias or son
preference places the female child in a disadvantageous position from birth. In
some communities, however, particularly in Asia, the practice of infanticide
ensures that some female children have no life at all, violating the basic right
to life laid down in article 6 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Selective abortion, foeticide and infanticide all occur because the female child
is not valued by her culture, or because certain economic and legislative acts
have ruled her life worthless.
In India, for
example, infanticide was formally legislated against during British rule, after
centuries of practice in some communities. However, recent reports have shown
that there is a revival.
In certain parts of
India and Pakistan, women are still considered unnecessary evils. In the past,
when victorious armies took their revenge on defeated communities, women were
raped as part of the spoils of war. Subsequently, these communities resorted to
killing their daughters at birth or when the enemy was advancing, to spare the
female population and community from shame.
Modern techniques
such as amniocentesis and ultrasound tests have given women greater power to
detect the sex of their babies in time to abort. Illegal abortion, particularly
of female foetuses, either self-inflicted or performed by unskilled birth
attendants, under poor sanitary conditions has led to increased maternal
mortality, particularly in South and South-East Asia.
Female foeticide is
an emerging problem in some parts of India, and the Government has introduced a
bill in Parliament to ban the use of amniocentesis for sex-determination
purposes. Such misuse of amniocentesis is also prohibited in the States of
Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan and Haryana, where the problem is more
prevalent.
D. Early
marriage and dowry
Early marriage is
another serious problem which some girls, as opposed to boys, must face. The
practice of giving away girls for marriage at the age of 11, 12 or 13, after
which they must start producing children, is prevalent among certain ethnic
groups in Asia and Africa. The principal reasons for this practice are the
girls' virginity and the bride-price. Young girls are less likely to have had
sexual contact and thus are believed to be virgins upon marriage; this condition
raises the family status as well as the dowry to be paid by the husband. In some
cases, virginity is verified by female relatives before the marriage.
Child marriage robs
a girl of her childhood-time necessary to develop physically, emotionally and
psychologically. In fact, early marriage inflicts great emotional stress as the
young woman is removed from her parents' home to that of her husband and
in-laws. Her husband, who will invariably be many years her senior, will have
little in common with a young teenager. It is with this strange man that she has
to develop an intimate emotional and physical relationship. She is obliged to
have intercourse, although physically she might not be fully developed.
Girls from
communities where early marriages occur are also victims of son preferential
treatment and will probably be malnourished, and consequently have stunted
physical growth.
Neglect of and
discrimination against daughters, particularly in societies with strong son
preference, also contribute to early marriage of girls. It has been generally
recognized at United Nations seminars on traditional practices affecting women
and children, and on the basis of research, that early marriage devalues women
in some societies and that the practice continues as a result of son preference.
In some countries, girls as young as a few months old are promised to male
suitors for marriage. Girls are fattened up, groomed, adorned with jewels and
kept in seclusion to make them attractive so that they can be married off to the
highest bidder.
Health
complications that result from early marriage in the Middle East and North
Africa, for example, include the risk of operative delivery, low weight and
malnutrition resulting from frequent pregnancies and lactation in the period of
life when the young mothers are themselves still growing.
Another economic
reason which perpetuates the practice of female genital mutilation is related to
dowries.
The dowry price of
a woman is her exchange value in cash, kind or any other agreed form, such as a
period of employment. This value is determined by the family of the bride-to-be
and her future in-laws. Both families must gain from the exchange. The woman's
in-laws want an extra pair of hands and children; her family desire payment
which will provide greater security for other relatives. The dowry price will be
higher if the woman's virginity has been preserved, notably through genital
mutilation.
In certain
communities in South Asia, the low status of girls has to be compensated for by
the payment of a dowry by the parents of the girl to the husband at the time of
marriage. This has resulted in a number of dowry crimes, including mental and
physical torture, starvation, rape, and even the burning alive of women by their
husbands and/or in-laws in cases where dowry payments are not met.
It should be noted
that the Committee on the Rights of the Child, in a number of recommendations in
the light of article 2 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, has called
upon States to recognize the principle of equality before the law and forbid
gender discrimination, including the adoption of legislation prohibiting harmful
traditional practices such as genital mutilation, forced and early marriage of
girl children, early pregnancy and related prejudicial health practices.
The work of the
Committee has also permitted the identification of certain areas where law
reform should be undertaken, in both civil and penal areas, such as the minimum
age for marriage and establishment of the age of criminal responsibility as
being the attainment of puberty. Some States have argued that girls attain their
physical maturity earlier, but it is the view of the Committee that maturity
cannot simply be identified with physical development when social and mental
development are lacking and that, on the basis of such criteria, girls are
considered adults before the law upon marriage, thus being deprived of the
comprehensive protection ensured by the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The International Conference on Population and Development, held at Cairo in
September 1994 (see p. 36 below), encouraged Governments to raise the minimum
age for marriage. In her preliminary report to the Commission on Human Rights,
the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences,
Ms. Radhika Coomaraswamy, also recognized that the age of marriage was a factor
contributing to the violation of women's rights (E/CN.4/1995/42, para.
165).
E. Early
pregnancy, nutritional taboos and practices related to child delivery
Early pregnancy can
have harmful consequences for both young mothers and their babies. According to
UNICEF, no girl should become pregnant before the age of 18 because she is not
yet physically ready to bear children. Babies of mothers younger than 18 tend to
be born premature and have low body weight; such babies are more likely to die
in the first year of life. The risk to the young mother's own health is also
greater. Poor health is common among indigent pregnant and lactating
women.
In many parts of
the developing world, especially in rural areas, girls marry shortly after
puberty and are expected to start having children immediately. Although the
situation has improved since the early 1980s, in many areas the majority of
girls under 20 years of age are already married and having children. Although
many countries have raised the legal age for marriage, this has had little
impact on traditional societies where marriage and child-bearing confer "status"
on a woman.
Those who start
having children early generally have more children, at shorter intervals, than
those who embark on parenthood later. Fertility rates have been falling over the
past decade, but they remain very high in Africa, parts of Latin America and
Asia. Once again, the link between delayed child-bearing and education is
crucial.
An additional
health risk to young mothers is obstructed labour, which occurs when the baby's
head is too big for the orifice of the mother. This provokes vesicovaginal
fistulas, especially when an untrained traditional birth attendant forces the
baby's head out unduly.
Generally
throughout the developing world, the average food intake of pregnant and
lactating mothers is far below that of the average male. Cultural practices,
including nutritional taboos, ensure that pregnant women are deprived of
essential nutriments, and as a result they tend to suffer from iron and protein
deficiencies.
Poor health can be
improved by a more balanced diet. The choice of food consumed is determined by a
number of factors, including availability of natural resources, economics,
religious beliefs, social status and traditional taboos. Because these factors
place limits in one way or another on the intake of food, communities and
individuals are deprived of essential nutriments and, as a result, physical and
mental development is impaired. This is generally the case in most developing
countries, but especially throughout Africa.
Although poor
distribution of resources-whether due to harsh geographical or climatic
conditions in a region, or to poverty resulting from a lack of purchasing
power-contributes greatly to the severe imbalance of diets throughout Africa,
taboos placed on food for religious or cultural reasons are an unnecessary
practice which exacerbates the situation.
The reasons for
such taboos are many, but all are steeped in superstition. Many taboos are
upheld because it is believed that the consumption of a particular animal or
plant will bring harm to the individual.
Permanent taboos
are also placed on female members of most communities throughout Africa. From
infancy, the female child is given a low-nutrition diet. She is weaned at a much
earlier age than the male infant, and throughout her life she will be deprived
of high-protein food such as animal meat, eggs, fish and milk. As a result, the
intake of nutriments by the female population is lower than that of the male
population.
Temporary taboos
which are applicable only at certain times in the life of an individual also
affect women disproportionately. Most communities throughout Africa have food
taboos specially for pregnant women. Often these taboos exclude the consumption
of nutriments essential for the expectant mother and foetus.
These nutritional
taboos are unnecessary impositions made on women, who are already malnourished.
It is perhaps not surprising that maternal and infant mortality rates are so
high and life expectancy low in the countries concerned. But nutritional taboos
also have far-reaching implications for women in the field of work, where their
levels of productivity can be affected.
Lack of basic
knowledge of human bodily functions can lead to illogical conclusions when
illness sets in, or especially when a mother or her infant dies. Surrounded by
myths and superstition, what may be a simple mishap can be explained in much
more sinister terms as the product of evil spirits or bad omens.
Most rural areas
throughout the developing world have disproportionately fewer health centres and
clinics, trained midwives, nurses and doctors than urban areas. For most rural
dwellers, health treatment must be obtained from traditional birth attendants
(TBAs). Most TBAs have no formal training in health practices but acquire their
skills via apprenticeship. These are skills passed down through generations of
women. By observing a given situation, the TBA learns which remedy to use for
which illness, or how to perform different kinds of delivery. If the situation
changes, they try to adapt their knowledge and remedies and hope that that
works. If things go wrong, however, supernatural explanations are given; blame
is never attributed to the TBA.
According to the
World Health Organization (WHO), more than half the births in developing nations
are attended by TBAs and relatives. Although these women have every good
intention to assist their patients, mortality rates are higher in the rural
areas where they operate.
The use of herbal
mixtures and magic is common during delivery throughout Africa. The chemical
components of some of these mixtures are beneficial, but others are quite
lethal, especially when taken in large dosage.
In the case of
obstructed labour, the abdomen is at times massaged or pressed to force the baby
out. Some TBAs perform surgical operations to extract the foetus, using a knife
or razor-blade to cut the labia minora and vaginal opening. A similar operation,
known as the "Gishiri cut", is performed in some parts of Africa, and the likely
complications are known to be haemorrhaging and infection.
Among the most
bizarre treatments for obstructed labour are the psychological ones. In many
societies, difficulty in labour or delay in delivery is believed to be
punishment for marital infidelity. The woman is pressured to confess her misdeed
so that labour may continue without complications. This practice, which inflicts
great mental cruelty on a woman already in agony due to obstructed labour, is
prevalent in several African countries. In addition to the psychological trauma
suffered by the woman, the practice further delays her being taken to
hospital.
Treatment of
obstructed labour by ineffective and harmful traditional methods can also cause
uterine rupture. Rupture of the uterus still constitutes one of the major causes
of maternal death in obstetric practice in developing countries. Death rates as
high as 37 per cent have been reported in studies of hospitalized women with
ruptured uterus. Foetal mortality is also very high: it was 100 per cent in a
study of 144 cases of uterine rupture in one African country and 96 per cent in
an Indian review of 181 cases.
Even when
obstructed labour does not result in maternal death, it leads to prolonged or
even permanent ill health in the majority of cases. For example, vesicovaginal
fistula is a condition that has traumatic physical as well as social
consequences. Due to prolonged pressure on the bladder during obstructed labour,
the lower genital tract is severely damaged, causing a false passage between the
bladder and the vagina. The woman suffers from incontinence of urine and
sometimes of faeces as well, since 10 to 15 per cent of all vesicovaginal
fistula cases have associated rectovaginal fistula.
In two African
countries, a practice known as "Zur Zur" is performed on women between the 34th
and 35th weeks of their first pregnancy. A deep cut is made in the anterior wall
of the vagina, sometimes on the posterior wall. The wound is allowed to bleed,
then the woman rests for a while before being sent home to nurse her wound. The
purpose of this operation is to prepare the woman for an easy delivery. However,
the consequences can be death through excessive bleeding, shock, infection of
the birth canal, and vesicovaginal or vaginal fistula.
Misdiagnoses have
been made by midwives and doctors who receive these women once complications set
in. The bleeding is often mistaken for an ante-partum haemorrhage, and Caesarean
sections have been performed; but invariably the bleeding continues. Midwives
are fighting to get the practice stopped in the countries concerned.
Various forms of
contraception and methods of tightening the vagina are practised throughout the
world. Many involve inserting herbal mixtures and foreign objects-for example,
aluminium hydroxide, cloth, stone, soap and lime-into the vagina. Many of these
inserts have an irritating or erosive effect on the vaginal mucosa, which is a
natural defence against infections and disease, such as HIV.
F. Violence
against women
Most of the
practices reviewed so far constitute acts of violence against women or the girl
child by the family and the community, and are often condoned by the State. In
its resolution 1994/45 of 4 March 1994, the Commission on Human Rights
recognized other forms of non-traditional practices, such as rape and domestic
violence, as violence against women. In that resolution (paras. 6 and 8), the
Commission decided to appoint, for a three-year period, a special rapporteur on
violence against women, including its causes and consequences. Ms. Radhika
Coomaraswamy of Sri Lanka was subsequently appointed Special Rapporteur on
violence against women.
This appointment
came after more than two decades of tireless campaigning by women worldwide. An
important step marked by resolution 1994/45 was that, for the first time,
Governments were held accountable for acts of violence against women committed
by the private individual.
In the same
resolution (para. 7), the Commission invited the Special Rapporteur, in carrying
out her mandate, and within the framework of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights and all other international human rights instruments, including the
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and
the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, inter alia,
to recommend measures, at the national, regional and international levels, to
eliminate violence against women and its causes, and to remedy its
consequences.
The Special
Rapporteur's mandate includes carrying out field missions, either separately or
jointly with other special rapporteurs and working groups, and consulting
periodically with the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against
Women. In addition, the Commission requested the Secretary-General to ensure
that the reports of the Special Rapporteur are brought to the attention of the
Commission on the Status of Women.
The Special Rapporteur submitted a preliminary report to the Commission on Human Rights at its fifty-first session, in 1995 (E/CN.4/1995/42).
A. United
Nations organs and agencies
Action on
traditional practices affecting the health of women and children, in particular
female genital mutilation (FGM), was first taken in 1958 when the Economic and
Social Council (ECOSOC) invited the World Health Organization WHO to undertake a
study of the persistence of customs subjecting girls to ritual operations and to
communicate the results of the study to the Commission on the Status of
Women.
In 1960, the issue of FGM was debated at the Seminar on the
Participation of Women in Public Life, held at Addis Ababa for the African
region. Concluding remarks included a call to WHO to make a statement condemning
all forms of medicalization of FGM. In its resolution 821 II (XXXII), adopted in
July 1961, ECOSOC again invited WHO to study the medical aspects of operations
based on customs. A seminar convened in 1979 by the WHO Regional Office for the
Eastern Mediterranean in Khartoum marked a milestone in the campaign against
harmful traditional practices, setting the pace and direction for international
and national plans of action. Additional forms of harmful traditional practices
were identified and a recommendation was made for the formation of the
Inter-African Committee on Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women
and Children. In addition, the seminar reiterated the concluding remarks made at
the 1960 seminar and urged Governments to collaborate with international bodies
in a concerted effort to eliminate these practices.
Commission on
Human Rights and Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and
Protection of Minorities
For a number of
years, many voices, both national and international, have been echoing the
United Nations call for an end to the suffering of girls and women caused by
harmful traditional practices. In the 1980s, the campaign against such practices
became so widespread that, in 1983, the issue was taken up by the Sub-Commission
on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities. The
Sub-Commission's recommendation that a working group be established to conduct a
study of all aspects of the problem was endorsed by the Commission on Human
Rights and the Economic and Social Council.
The Working Group
on Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children, composed of
experts designated by the Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and
Protection of Minorities, UNICEF, UNESCO and WHO, and representatives of
concerned NGOS, held three sessions in Geneva during 1985 and 1986. The report
of the Working Group (E/CN.4/1986/42) was submitted to the Commission on Human
Rights at its forty-second session, in 1986.
By its resolution
1988/57 of 9 March 1988, the Commission on Human Rights requested the
Sub-Commission to consider measures to be taken at the national and
international levels to eliminate the practices in question, and to report to
the Commission on the subject. Pursuant to that request, the Sub-Commission
appointed one of its members, Mrs. Halima Embarek Warzazi, as Special Rapporteur
to study, on the basis of information to be gathered from Governments,
specialized agencies, other intergovernmental organizations and concerned NGOS,
recent developments relating to traditional practices affecting the health of
women and children (Sub-Commission resolution 1988/34 of 1 September
1988).
The Special
Rapporteur submitted a preliminary report (E/CN.4/Sub.2/1989/42 and Add.1) and a
final report (E/CN.4/Sub.2/1991/6), containing information received from the
above-mentioned sources, as well as information gathered during field missions
to the Sudan and Djibouti. These field missions, together with two regional
seminars on the subject organized by the Centre for Human Rights in Africa and
Asia (Burkina Faso, 1991; Sri Lanka, 1994), have contributed to a better
understanding of the phenomenon of harmful traditional practices which violate
the rights of women and children.
Finally, in its
resolution 1994/30 of 26 August 1994, the Sub-Commission adopted the Plan of
Action for the Elimination of Harmful Traditional Practices Affecting the Health
of Women and Children, which was prepared by the Sri Lanka regional seminar (see
annex). In the
same resolution, the Sub-Commission recommended the extension of the Special
Rapporteur's mandate for an additional two years, to enable her to carry out an
in-depth analysis of the issue, taking into consideration the conclusions and
recommendations of the two regional seminars and the effects of the
implementation of the Plan of Action.
The resolution also
called upon the Secretary-General to transmit the Plan of Action to the
International Conference on Population and Development, held at Cairo in
September 1994, and to the Fourth World Conference on Women, to be held at
Beijing in September 1995. The Special Rapporteur was requested to submit
reports at the forty-seventh and forty-eighth sessions of the Sub-Commission, in
1995 and 1996, respectively. The Sub-Commission's recommendations were endorsed
by the Commission on Human Rights in its decision 1995/112 of 3 March
1995.
Committee on the
Elimination of Discrimination against Women
At its ninth
session, in 1990, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against
Women addressed the issue of harmful traditional practices, in particular FGM.
In general recommendation No. 14 adopted at that session, it indicated its
recognition of work carried out by women's organizations in identifying and
combating harmful traditional practices. The Committee recommended that
Governments support those efforts and encourage politicians, professionals, and
religious and community leaders at all levels, including the media and the arts,
to cooperate in influencing attitudes towards the eradication of FGM. The
Committee also called for the introduction of appropriate educational and
training programmes and seminars based on research findings about the problems
arising from FGM.
The same general recommendation urged Governments to:
. . .
(b) Include
in their national health policies appropriate strategies aimed at eradicating
[FGM] in public health care ... [including] the special responsibility of . . .
traditional birth attendants . . . ;
(c) Invite
assistance, information and advice from the appropriate organizations of the
United Nations system to support and assist efforts being deployed to eliminate
harmful traditional practices;
(d) Include
in their reports to the Committee under articles 10 and 12 of the Convention on
the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women information about
measures taken to eliminate [FGM].
United Nations
Children's Fund
The United Nations
Children's Fund (UNICEF) has supported a wide range of programme activities for
the advancement of women and girls through advocacy, policy-oriented research
and technical cooperation. There are many examples in the sectors of health,
education, income generation and water supply and sanitation of projects
successfully addressing the needs of women and girls and promoting their
participation in community development.
Special attention
is given to the girl child and to the need to reduce disparities in the
treatment of boys and girls. The Convention on the Rights of the Child and
related policy efforts have stimulated regional and country-level action for
advocacy and mobilization in favour of girls and for the elimination of
discriminatory social and cultural practices. Social mobilization has focused on
changing attitudes, particularly those related to the preference for sons in
most countries in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and Latin America. UNICEF's
national, regional and international advocacy of appropriate policies and its
efforts to bring about attitudinal and behavioural change, especially in such
critical areas as early marriage, female genital mutilation, teenage pregnancy
and female infanticide, will be intensified through support to local and
national groups and organizations concerned with these issues.
In May 1994,
UNICEF's Executive Board requested the Executive Director to give high priority
to a number of efforts to promote gender equality and gender-sensitive
development programmes, taking into account the special needs of individual
countries and, inter alia, the provisions of the Convention on the Rights
of the Child and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women. The priorities for action include:
(a)
strengthening the integration of gender concerns in country programmes by
eliminating the disparities which exist at each stage of the life cycle of girls
and women;
(b)
promotion of ratification and implementation of the Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, as well as the
Convention on the Rights of the Child;
(c) support
for specific action and strategies which promote gender equality within the
family, including the sharing of parental responsibilities.
UNICEF country
offices are working closely with NGO partners and Governments, as well as with
other groups, including women's organizations, religious leaders, health workers
and teachers.
World Health
Organization
The World Health
Organization (WHO) has been concerned with the issue of harmful traditional
practices since 1958, when ECOSOC requested a study of the health implications
of FGM. At a seminar in 1979, organized by the WHO Regional Office for the
Eastern Mediterranean in Khartoum (see p. 24 above), WHO condemned FGM as a
serious health risk which should be abolished, and called upon medical personnel
to refrain from performing FGM.
WHO promotes and
supports traditional practices which enhance health-for example,
breast-feeding-and discourages those which are harmful, particularly to the
health of women and girls. Among the latter, female genital mutilation presents
the most dramatic risk of ill health, affecting some 75 million women and girls
in Africa alone. The organization also discourages nutritional taboos which
prevent pregnant and lactating women from eating essential foods. WHO works
closely with all concerned national authorities, and particularly with
non-governmental organizations, on these issues.
In 1993, the
Forty-sixth World Health Assembly adopted resolution WHA46.18 on maternal and
child health and family planning for health. The resolution expressed concern,
inter alia, about the continuing inequities affecting women in
general and the persistence of harmful traditional practices such as child
marriages, dietary limitations during pregnancy, and FGM. It urged member States
to continue to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of their efforts to
achieve the goal of health for all, in particular in eliminating traditional
practices affecting the health of women, children and adolescents.
In 1994, the
Forty-seventh World Health Assembly adopted resolution WHA47.10, dealing
specifically with harmful traditional practices, in which it urged all member
States (para. 2):
(1) to assess the
extent to which harmful traditional practices affecting the health of women and
children constitute a social and public health problem in any local community or
subgroup;
(2) to establish
national policies and programmes that will effectively, and with legal
instruments, abolish female genital mutilation, child-bearing before biological
and social maturity, and other harmful practices affecting the health of women
and children;
(3) to collaborate
with national non-governmental groups active in this field, draw upon their
experience and expertise and, where such groups do not exist, encourage their
establishment;
In the same
resolution, the Assembly requested the Director-General of WHO to strengthen
technical support to member States in implementing the above measures; and to
continue global and regional collaboration with non-governemental organizations,
United Nations bodies, and other agencies and organizations concerned in order
to establish national, regional and global strategies for the abolition of
harmful traditional practices.
B.
Governments
The preliminary
report (E/CN.4/Sub.2/1989/42 and Add.1) and final report (E/CN.4/Sub.2/1991/6)
of the Special Rapporteur on traditional practices affecting the health of women
and children contain summaries of information on the topic received, in response
to requests by the Secretary-General, from 28 Governments. However, many of
these Governments stated that harmful traditional practices were unknown in
their countries. Others recognized the existence of some such practices, namely
female genital mutilation (FGM), son preference and inferior social status of
women, and practices related to marriage, pregnancy and nutrition.
A number of
countries throughout the world have either taken or supported action to prevent
traditional practices affecting the health of women and children, in particular
FGM.
Bangladesh
clearly upholds the principle of equality of men and women and prohibits
discrimination against women. To protect the legal rights of women and to stop
violence and repression against them, the Government has adopted the following
legislation:
(a) Dowry
Prohibition Act, 1980, which provides for punishment for giving, taking or
abetting the giving or taking of dowry;
(b)
Cruelty to Women (Deterrent Punishment) Ordinance, 1983, which provides for
punishment for abduction of women for unlawful purposes, trafficking in women,
or causing or attempting to cause death or grievous harm to a wife for
dowry;
(c) Child
Marriage Restraint Act Amendment Ordinance, 1984, which raises the
marriageable age for women from 16 to 18 years, and for men from 18 to 21 years.
It also provides for punishment for marrying or giving in marriage of a
child;
(d)
Muslim Family Laws Ordinance, 1961 (as amended in 1982), which provides for
increased punishment in cases of polygamy and divorce in violation of the
statutory provisions.
In the Sudan,
a law was passed in 1946, under the British Colonial Administration, to
prohibit the practice of infibulation.
In Sweden,
the Act on Prohibition of Female Circumcision was passed in 1982. It
not only seeks to bring to justice those breaking Swedish laws, but also any
person living in Sweden who assists in carrying out FGM in another country which
also has prohibitive laws.
In the United
Kingdom, the Prohibition of Female CircumcisionAct was adopted in
1985. Measures against FGM have also been included in the child protection
procedures at local authority levels.
In the United
States of America, the Federal Prohibition of Female Genital Mutilation
Act was under consideration by the House of Representatives in early
1995.
A number of
countries which have not yet passed specific laws use existing national
legislation to prohibit the practice of female genital mutilation.
In France,
no specific law exists, but article 312-3 of the Penal Code is applied to
prosecute persons exercising violence against or seriously assaulting a child
under 15, "if the result has been mutilation, amputation or . . . loss of an eye
or other permanent disabilities, or death not intentionally caused by the
perpetrator". The Criminal Division of the Cour de cessation decided, by a
judgement of 20 August 1983, that ablation of the clitoris resulting from wilful
violence constituted a mutilation under article 312-3 of the Penal Code. While
the term "female genital mutilation" is not used in the Penal Code, this
decision makes it quite clear that such practices fall within the purview of the
enactment.
In Norway,
all hospitals were alerted in 1985 to the practice of female genital
mutilation.
All the above
Governments have also acknowledged the importance of education and awareness
raising among both the practising communities and service providers. Practical
steps are being taken in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Djibouti, Egypt, Finland,
France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Somalia, the Sudan, Sweden and
the United Kingdom to ensure that relevant information is disseminated. Lack of
information from Africa and Asia makes it difficult to ascertain what recent
action has been taken at national and grass-roots levels.
Some African
countries are in the process of formulating national legislation against FGM,
including Burkina Faso, Djibouti, Egypt, Ghana and Nigeria. In Burkina Faso,
Kenya and Senegal, statements have been made by heads of State expressing the
need to eliminate FGM.
As regards Asia,
the following countries reported on ongoing and planned action to eradicate
harmful traditional practices at the second United Nations regional seminar on
the subject, held in Sri Lanka in July 1994: China, India, Islamic Republic of
Iran, Iraq, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Sri Lanka
and Thailand (E/CN.4/Sub.2/1994/10, paras. 75 ff.).
C.
Non-governmental organizations
Available
information indicates that increasingly more grass-roots activities in the area
of harmful traditional practices are taking place in Africa and Asia, as well as
in Western countries. In Australia, Canada, Europe, New Zealand and the United
States of America, the work of dedicated women is raising awareness and
providing training and advice to service providers such as midwives, health
visitors, nurses, doctors, teachers and social workers.
Of the 29 countries
in Africa identified as having communities practising female genital mutilation,
24 have branches of the Inter-African Committee on Traditional Practices
Affecting the Health of Women and Children, in addition to many women's NGOs.
Many established national women's organizations have carried out research and
surveys, and others have ventured into communities where FGM and other harmful
traditional practices prevail, setting up training programmes for excisors,
traditional birth attendants and community members.
Work at this level
is vital, for it is through the activities of NGOs that positive changes are
being realized. Although early results of work in these communities are
encouraging, to change a community's attitude totally will take at least a
generation. The NGOs in question thus urgently need continuing financial support
to ensure that their programmes are fully implemented.
Prominent
non-governmental organizations
(a)
Inter-African Committee on Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women
and Children
The Inter-African
Committee (IAC) was formed in pursuance of a recommendation made at the 1979 Khartoum seminar
organized by WHO. The Committee was officially established in 1984, following a
regional seminar on harmful traditional practices held that year at Dakar,
Senegal. The Committee has been granted consultative status with ECOSOC.
The aims of IAC are
to reduce the morbidity and mortality rates for women and children through the
eradication of harmful traditional practices; to promote traditional practices
which are beneficial to the health of women and children; to play an advocacy
role by promoting the importance of action against harmful traditional practices
at the international, regional and national levels; and to raise funds for and
support local activities of national committees and other partners.
The main areas of
focus of IAC are training in information campaigns, and training of local
activists and traditional birth attendants.
Intensive health
education workshops, enhanced by the use of visual aids, are provided for local
activists throughout communities, the objective being to raise awareness of
issues related to harmful traditional practices. After five months of training,
these activists are ready to go back to their communities and train other
community members. In this way, the information on harmful traditional practices
reaches a wide audience.
Traditional birth
attendants are also trained to become active in the campaign against harmful
traditional practices. Educational materials are disseminated to community
groups such as students, youth groups, teachers, and religious and community
leaders.
IAC also organizes
international and regional seminars and workshops and is in close collaboration
with the Organization of African Unity, the Economic Commission for Africa and
other United Nations agencies, as well as with other intergovernmental
organizations, NGOS, funding bodies and individuals. The objective is to
appraise and share experience and ideas in methods of good practice. The last
seminar took place in April 1994 at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
(b) FORWARD
International
FORWARD
International (Foundation for Women's Health Research and Development) has been
operational since 1983. It emerged from the Minority Rights Group (United
Kingdom), an international human rights organization, as a special project unit.
FORWARD's aim is to promote good health among African women and children
internationally. Its main focus is information provision, advocacy, training of
service providers, counselling and networking with other groups
internationally.
FORWARD is a United
Kingdom-based charity. It cooperates with community groups to develop
educational materials on the health aspects of FGM, and it works very closely
with local authorities in the area of child protection, by providing training to
social workers and teachers. FORWARD also provides training for health
professionals and gives advice on policy guidelines. The organization is
co-founder of a specialized Well Woman Clinic based in the United Kingdom, which
provides services and advice to excised and infibulated women.
FORWARD was
instrumental at the national level in the formulation of the United Kingdom's
1985 Prohibition of Female Circumcision Act,as well as legislation on
child protection. At the international level, FORWARD has provided advice and
guidelines to legislators in relation to the drafting of national laws on FGM in
the United States of America and Australia. The organization has worked closely
with and addressed meetings organized by WHO, Amnesty International UK and other
international agencies. In Africa, FORWARD has extensive links with women's
groups working in the areas of health and FGM.
(c) Babiker
Badri Scientific Association for Women's Studies
This organization
was established in the Sudan in 1979 by a group of volunteer women in order to
enhance research and education on women's issues. It is linked to the Ahfad
College for Women, which is also controlled by the Babiker Badri Association.
The organization is one of the pioneers in the fight against female genital
mutilation, organizing seminars, workshops and studies on the subject. It runs
an income-generating project for mothers in which education on FGM is gradually
introduced. The Ahfad College for Women, which has more than 3,000 female
students, has integrated education on FGM into its curriculum.
(d) Sudan
National Committee on Traditional Practices
The main objective
of this national women's organization is to educate and raise awareness of
harmful traditional practices at all levels of society. The Committee has
recognition and support from United Nations agencies, such as UNICEF, and other
international bodies concerned with the health of children.
The Committee's
main target groups are individuals who play influential roles in communities
where FGM prevails, e.g. policy makers, service providers, and religious and
community leaders. The Committee disseminates information via seminars,
workshops, discussion groups and training sessions.
(e) Women
for the Abolition of Sexual Mutilation (CAMS)
CAMS (Commission
Internationale pour I'Abolition des Mutilations Sexuelles) was established in
France in 1980; its head office is in Dakar, Senegal.
One prominent
member of CAMS (France) has devoted her time to campaigning throughout
practising communities in France. As a lawyer, she seeks to protect the girl
child by implementing existing French law, which has involved prosecuting
parents and excisors who have performed FGM in France. Like other NGOs working
in this field, CAMS has a focus on research and awareness raising. It has also
hosted a number of successful international seminars.
(f) Rädda
Barnen
Rädda Barnen is the
Swedish Save the Children organization. It has worked tirelessly with numerous
women's groups in Africa and throughout Europe, providing vital financial
support and advice.
D. United
Nations seminars and conferences
(a) Regional seminars
Two regional
seminars on traditional practices affecting the health of women and children
have been organized in Africa and Asia by the United Nations under its programme
of advisory services in the field of human rights. The first was held at
Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, from 29 April to 3 May 1991; the second was held at
Colombo, Sri Lanka, from 4 to 8 July 1994.
The objectives of
the seminars were to assess the human rights implications of harmful traditional
practices, and to gather information from participants on measures taken at the
governmental and non-governmental levels to end those practices. Participants
included representatives of national Governments, United Nations agencies, and
intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations. Both seminars provided the
opportunity for participants to exchange information and experience.
Participants were also urged to implement the recommendations of the
seminars.
The recommendations
adopted by the Ouagadougou seminar (E/CN.4/Sub.2/1991/48, paras. 136-138)
included the following:
(i) Governments
should:
Ratify and
implement international instruments, including those relating to the protection
of women and children;
Adopt legislation
prohibiting practices harmful to the health of women and children, particularly
FGM, and create a governmental body to implement the official policy
adopted;
Carry out a survey
and review of school curricula and textbooks with a view to eliminating
prejudices against women;
Establish a
national committee to combat harmful traditional practices, particularly
FGM;
Cooperate with
religious institutions and their leaders and other traditional authorities in
order to eliminate harmful traditional practices such as FGM.
(ii) At the
international level, the recommendations addressed specific United
Nations bodies and agencies, including:
The Commission on
the Status of Women, which was encouraged to study the issues pertaining to
harmful traditional practices, particularly FGM;
UNICEF, which was
called upon to continue its contribution to the campaign against FGM;
UNESCO, which was
requested to provide assistance to the States concerned in preparing teaching
materials, and to include the question of traditional practices in functional
literacy programmes.
In addition, a
special recommendation was addressed to all United Nations specialized agencies
to include in their government aid programmes activities relating to the
campaign against FGM.
(iii) NGOs
were encouraged to intensify their activities for the elimination of harmful
traditional practices. In particular, international NGOs concerned with
protecting the health of women and children were requested to extend their
financial and material support to national NGOS; private donors were also
encouraged to support such activities. Finally, NGOs and Governments were urged
to cooperate with each other in developing programmes for the retraining of FGM
practitioners.
The recommendations
of the Colombo seminar (E/CN.4/Sub.2/1994/10, paras. 89-90) were incorporated in
the Plan of Action for the Elimination of Harmful Traditional Practices
Affecting the Health of Women and Children, adopted by the seminar, the text of
which is reproduced in the annex to this Fact
Sheet.
The success of the
two regional seminars has stimulated great interest among researchers and women
activists the world over, thus increasing the volume of work being done and the
information available on harmful traditional practices. This is an important
step in understanding the prevalence and cultural justifications of the
practices in question.
(b)
International Conference on Population and Development
The International
Conference on Population and Development, convened by the United Nations, was
held in Cairo from 5 to 13 September 1994. Its main objective was to emphasize
the direct links between reproductive health and human rights, thus placing the
concerns of women and the girl child at the centre of the conference
themes.
Concern over
population explosion again prompted participants to examine the crucial causes
of large families. Poverty, lack of family planning, poor health, limited access
to education and lack of women's rights were identified as the main factors in
that regard.
It was also pointed
out that early marriage and pregnancy, leading to high fertility and poor sexual
and reproductive health, prevented the girl child from pursuing fully her
education and employment opportunities. The Conference reaffirmed that
investment in the girl child's health, nutrition and education from infancy was
crucial to development. The Conference further emphasized that there was a need
to eliminate all forms of discrimination against the girl child-for example, son
preference-which resulted in harmful and unethical practices such as prenatal
sex selection and female infanticide.
The Conference
urged Governments to increase public awareness of the value of girl children
through public education, promoting equal treatment for girls and boys at all
levels. It was emphasized that child marriages should be eliminated and arranged
marriages discouraged. Respect for girls and women had to be instilled in boys
from an early age. On the issue of FGM, Governments were urged to put a stop to
the practice and to ensure that rehabilitation and counselling facilities were
available for those concerned.
(c) Fourth World
Conference on Women
The Fourth World
Conference on Women will be held at Beijing from 4 to 15 September 1995.
Convened by the United Nations, the Conference will adopt a Platform for Action
concentrating on "critical areas of concern" that have been identified as
obstacles to the advancement of women in the world-and set an agenda for the
advancement of women at national, regional and international levels into the
next century. The themes that have been identified include poverty, education,
health, violence against women, the effects of armed or other kinds of conflict
on women, and human rights of women.
The issue of traditional practices affecting the health of women and children has been raised at various regional meetings held in preparation for the Conference. The draft Platform for Action for the Conference makes specific mention of harmful traditional practices (E/CN.6/1995/2, annex, para. 88) and calls for increased public awareness about violence as a violation of women's human rights.
Most women in
developing countries are unaware of their basic human rights. It is this state
of ignorance which ensures their acceptance-and, consequently, the perpetuation
of harmful traditional practices affecting their well-being and that of their
children. Even when women acquire a degree of economic and political awareness,
they often feel powerless to bring about the change necessary to eliminate
gender inequality. Empowering women is vital to any process of change and to the
elimination of these harmful traditional practices.
Since the World
Conference on Human Rights, held in Vienna in 1993, it is hoped that all States
will recognize and accept the universality and indivisibility of the human
rights of women. It is also expected that there will be more ratifications of
the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.
However, much remains to be done in the field of equality, taking into account
the absence, in many countries, of real constitutional guarantees of fundamental
human rights for all. The persistence of negative customary norms that conflict
with and undermine implementation of both national legislation and international
human rights standards must be addressed.
Although such
national legislation and international standards are vital in tackling the issue
of harmful traditional practices, there is an urgent need for a parallel
programme that addresses the cultural environment from which these practices
emerged, in order to eliminate the various justifications used to perpetuate
them. It is the duty of States to modify the social and cultural attitudes of
both men and women, with a view to eradicating customary practices based on the
idea of the inferiority or superiority of either sex or on stereotyped roles of
gender.
Comprehensive and
intensive programmes of formal and informal education, awareness raising and
training are the approach followed by some Governments, non-governmental
organizations and women's groups. In part II.C above, reference was made to the
various ways in which women's organizations are trying to empower women and
service providers in an effort to change attitudes regarding harmful traditional
practices. This approach needs to be supported by implementation of national and
international human rights norms relating to the elimination of discrimination
against women. The environment of discrimination, which denies women and the
girl child equal access to health care, education, employment and wealth, must
also be addressed and reformed.
In the
international debate, the father's responsibility towards the girl child has
never been challenged. However, the duties and responsibilities of men within
the family have begun to receive special attention as instruments of change. The
Programme of Action adopted by the International Conference on Population and
Development in September 1994 states:
Changes in both
men's and women's knowledge, attitudes and behaviour are necessary conditions
for achieving the harmonious partnership of men and women. . . . It is essential
to improve communication between men and women on issues of sexuality and
reproductive health, and the understanding of their joint responsibilities, so
that men and women are equal partners in public and private life.
. . .
. . . Male
responsibilities in family life must be included in the education of children
from the earliest ages. Special emphasis should be placed on the prevention of
violence against women and children.(4)
One of the most
noticeable achievements at the international level has been the lifting of the
taboo against addressing the issue of female genital mutilation, which is now
acknowledged as a violation of the human rights of women and the girl child.
This has created new sociocultural forces in the countries concerned,
particularly among women participating in the crusade against FGM. None the
less, unprecedented efforts are needed at the national and international levels
to eradicate all forms of harmful traditional practices.
Governments, the United Nations and its specialized agencies, and NGOs should now play a more important role in monitoring and implementing the Plan of Action for the Elimination of Harmful Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children (see annex). Technical and financial support should be given to national and regional organizations which advocate gender equality and promote human rights for all.
_______
a/ Prepared by the second United
Nations Regional Seminar on Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women
and Children, held at Colombo, Sri Lanka, from 4 to 8 July 1994
(E/CN.4/Sub.2/1994/10/Add.1 and Corr. 1); adopted by the Sub-Commission on
Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities in its resolution
1994/30 of 26 August 1994 (para. 3).
A. National
action
(1) A clear
expression of political will and an undertaking to put an end to traditional
practices affecting the health of women and girl children, particularly female
genital mutilation, are required on the part of the Governments of countries
concerned.
(2) International
instruments, including those relating to the protection of women and children,
should be ratified and effectively implemented.
(3) Legislation
prohibiting practices harmful to the health of women and children, particularly
female genital mutilation, should be drafted.
(4) Governmental
bodies should be created to implement the official policy adopted.
(5) Governmental
agencies established to ensure the implementation of the Forward-looking
Strategies for the Advancement of Women adopted at Nairobi in 1985 by the World
Conference to Review and Appraise the Achievements of the United Nations Decade
for Women: Equality, Development and Peace should be involved in activities
undertaken to combat harmful traditional practices affecting the health of women
and children.
(6) National
committees should be established to combat traditional practices affecting the
health of young girls and women, particularly female genital mutilation, and
governmental financial assistance provided to those committees.
(7) A survey and
review of school curricula and textbooks should be undertaken with a view to
eliminating prejudices against women.
(8) Courses on the
ill effects of female genital mutilation and other traditional practices should
be included in training programmes for medical and paramedical personnel.
(9) Instruction on
the harmful effects of such practices should be included in health and sex
education programmes.
(10) Topics
relating to traditional practices affecting the health of women and children
should be introduced into functional literacy campaigns.
(11) Audiovisual
programmes (sketches, plays, etc.) should be prepared and articles published in
the press on traditional practices adversely affecting the health of young girls
and children, particularly female genital mutilation.
(12) Cooperation
with religious institutions and their leaders and with traditional authorities
is required in order to eliminate traditional practices such as female genital
mutilation which are harmful to the health of women and children.
(13) All persons
able to contribute directly or indirectly to the elimination of such practices
should be mobilized.
Son
preference
(14) The family
being the basic institution from where gender biases emanate, wide-ranging
motivational campaigns should be launched to educate parents to value the worth
of a girl child, so as to eliminate such biases.
(15) In view of the
scientific fact that male chromosomes determine the sex of children, it is
necessary to emphasize that the mother is not responsible for selection.
Governments must, therefore, actively attempt to change the misconceptions
regarding the responsibilities of the mother in determining the sex of the
child.
(16)
Non-discriminatory legislation on succession and inheritance should be
introduced.
(17) In the light
of the dominant role religion plays in shaping the image of women in each
society, efforts should be made to remove misconceptions in religious teachings
which reinforce the unequal status of women.
(18) Governments
should mobilize all educational institutions and the media to change negative
attitudes and values towards the female gender and project a positive image of
women in general, and the girl child in particular.
(19) Immediate
measures should be taken by Governments to introduce and implement compulsory
primary education and free secondary education and to increase the access of
girls to technical education. Affirmative action in this field should be adopted
in favour of the promotion of girls' education to achieve gender equity. Parents
should be motivated to ensure the education of their daughters.
(20) Considering
the importance of promoting self-esteem as a prerequisite for the higher status
of women in the family and the community, Governments should take effective
measures to ensure that women have access to and have control over economic
resources, including land, credit, employment and other institutional
facilities.
(21) Measures must
be taken to provide free health care and services to women and children (in
particular, girls) and to promote health consciousness among women, with
emphasis on their own basic health needs.
(22) Governments
should regularly conduct nutritional surveys, identify nutritional gender
disparities and undertake special nutritional programmes in areas where
malnutrition in various forms is manifested.
(23) Governments
should also undertake nutritional education programmes to address, inter
alia, the special nutritional needs of women at various stages of
their life cycle.
(24) As son
preference is often associated with future security, Governments should take
measures to introduce a social security system, especially for widows,
women-headed families and the aged.
(25) Governments
are urged to take measures to eliminate gender stereotyping in the educational
system, including removing gender bias from the curricula and other teaching
materials.
(26) Governments
should encourage by all means the activities of non-governmental organizations
concerned with this problem.
(27) Public opinion
makers, national institutions, religious leaders, political parties, trade
unions, legislators, educators, medical practitioners and all other
organizations should be actively involved in combating all forms of
discrimination against women and girls.
(28) Gender
disaggregated data on morbidity, mortality, education, health, employment and
political participation should be collected regularly, analysed and utilized for
the formulation of policy and programmes for girls and women.
Early
marriage
(29) Governments
are urged to adopt legislative measures fixing a minimum age for marriage for
boys and girls. As recommended by the World Health Organization, the minimum age
for girls should be 18 years. Such legislative measures should be reinforced
with necessary mechanisms for their implementation.
(30) Registration
of births and deaths, marriages and divorces should be made compulsory.
(31) Health issues
relating to sex and family-life education should be included in school curricula
to promote responsible and harmonious parenthood and to create awareness among
young people about the harmful effects of early marriage, as well as the need
for education about sexually transmitted diseases, especially AIDS.
(32) The media
should be mobilized to raise public awareness on the consequences of child
marriage and other such practices and the need to combat them. Governments and
women's activist groups could monitor the role of the mass media in this regard.
All Governments should adopt and work towards "safe motherhood"
initiatives.
(33) Effective
training programmes should be ensured for traditional birth attendants and
paramedical personnel to equip them with the necessary skills and knowledge,
including concerning the effects of harmful traditional practices, to provide
care and services during the antenatal, child delivery and postnatal periods,
especially for rural mothers.
(34) Governments
should promote male contraception, as well as female contraception.
(35) To discourage
the early marriage of girls, Governments should make provision to increase
vocational training, retraining and apprenticeship programmes for young women to
empower them economically. A certain percentage of the places in existing
training institutions should be reserved for women and girls.
(36) Governments
should recognize and promote the reproductive rights of women, including their
right to decide on the number and spacing of their children.
(37) Considering
that non-governmental organizations have an effective role in urging Governments
to enhance women's health status and in keeping international organizations
informed about the trends relating to traditional practices affecting the health
of women and children, they should continue to report on the progress made and
obstacles encountered in this area.
Child delivery
practices
(38) Contraception
should be encouraged as a means of promoting the health of women and children
rather than as a means of achieving demographic goals.
(39) Governments
should eliminate, through educational and legislative measures and the creation
of monitoring mechanisms, all forms of harmful traditional childbirth
practices.
(40) Governments
should expand and improve health services and introduce training programmes for
traditional birth attendants to upgrade their positive traditional skills, as
well as to give them new skills on a priority basis.
(41) Research and
documentation are essential to assess the harmful effects of certain traditional
birth-related practices and to identify and continue some positive traditions
like breast-feeding.
Violence against
women and girl children
(42) Violence
against women and girl children is a global phenomenon which cuts across
geographical, cultural and political boundaries and varies only in its
manifestations and severity. Gender violence has existed from time immemorial
and continues up to the present day. It takes covert and overt forms, including
physical and mental abuse. Violence against women, including female genital
mutilation, wife burning, dowry-related violence, rape, incest, wife battering,
female foeticide and female infanticide, trafficking and prostitution, is a
human rights violation and not only a moral issue. It has serious negative
implications for the economic and social development of women and society and is
an expression of the societal gender subordination of women.
(43) Governments
should openly condemn all forms of violence against women and children, in
particular girls, and commit themselves to confronting and eliminating such
violence.
(44) To stop all
forms of violence against women, all available media should be mobilized to
cultivate a social attitude and climate against such totally unacceptable human
behaviour.
(45) Governments
should set up monitoring mechanisms to control depiction of any form of violence
against women in the media.
(46) Violence being
a form of social aberration, Governments should advocate the cultivation of a
social attitude so that victims of violence do not suffer any continuing
disability, feelings of guilt, or low self-esteem.
(47) Governments
should enact and regularly review legislation for effectively combating all
forms of violence, including rape, against women and children. In this
connection, more severe penalties for acts of rape and trafficking should be
introduced and specialized courts should be established to process such cases
speedily and to create a climate of deterrence.
(48) Female
infanticide and female foeticide should be openly condemned by all Governments
as a flagrant violation of the basic right to life of the girl child.
(49) The hearing of
cases of rape should be in camera and the details not publicized, and legal
assistance should be provided to the victims.
(50) Traditional
practices of dowry and bride-price should be condemned by Governments and made
illegal. Acts of bride burning should likewise be condemned and a heavy penalty
inflicted on the guilty.
(51) Families,
medical personnel and the public should be encouraged to report and have
registered all forms of violence.
(52) More and more
women should be inducted in law enforcement machinery as police officers,
judiciary, medical personnel and counsellors.
(53)
Gender-sensitization training should be organized for all law enforcement
personnel and such training should be incorporated in all induction and
refresher courses in police training institutions.
(54) Mechanisms for
networking and exchanges of information on violence should be established and
strengthened.
(55) Governments
should provide shelters, counselling and rehabilitation centres for victims of
all forms of violence. They should also provide free legal assistance to
victims.
(56) Governments
must develop and implement a legal literacy campaign to improve the legal
awareness of women, including dissemination of information through all available
means, particularly NGO programmes, adult literacy courses and school
curricula.
(57) Governments
must promote research on violence against women and create and update databases
on this subject.
(58)
Community-based vigilance should be promoted regarding gender violence,
including domestic violence.
(59) At the
national level, Governments should promote and set up independent, autonomous
and vigilant institutions to monitor and inquire into violations of women's
rights, such as national commissions for women consisting of individuals and
experts from outside the Government.
(60) Governments
which have not done so are urged to ratify the Convention on the Elimination of
All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Convention on the Rights of
the Child, to ensure full gender equality in all spheres of life. The States
parties to these Conventions must comply with their provisions in order to
achieve their ultimate objectives, including the eradication of all harmful
traditional practices.
(61) NGOs should be
active in bringing all available information on systematic and massive violence
against women and children, in particular girls, to the attention of all
relevant bodies of the United Nations, such as the Centre for Human Rights, the
Commission on the Status of Women and specialized agencies, for the necessary
intervention. Such information should also be shared with the Governments
concerned, women's commissions and human rights organizations.
(62) Women's
organizations should mobilize all efforts, including action research, to
eradicate prejudicial and internalized values which project a diminished image
of women. They should take action towards raising awareness among women about
their potential and self-esteem, the lack of which is one of the factors
perpetuating discrimination.
B.
International action
The Commission
on Human Rights and the Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and
Protection of Minorities
(63) The question
of traditional practices affecting the health of women and girl children should
be retained on the agenda of the Commission on Human Rights and the
Sub-Commission, so as to keep it under constant review.
The Commission
on the Status of Women
(64) The Commission
should give more attention to the question of harmful traditional
practices.
(65) All the organs
of the United Nations working for the protection and the promotion of human
rights, and in particular the mechanisms established by the Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Convention on the
Rights of the Child, the Covenants on Human Rights and the Convention against
Torture, should include in their agenda the question of all harmful traditional
practices which jeopardize the health of women and girls and discriminate
against them.
(66)
Intergovernmental organizations and specialized agencies and bodies of the
United Nations system, such as the United Nations Children's Fund, the United
Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Population Fund, the United
Nations Development Fund for Women, the International Labour Organisation, the
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the World
Health Organization, should integrate in their activities the issue of
confronting harmful traditional practices and elaborate programmes to cope with
this problem.
United Nations
specialized agencies
(67) Close
coordination should be established between the Inter-African Committee on
Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children and the
relevant United Nations bodies, specialized agencies and regional organizations
for the effective implementation of the Plan of Action. All specialized agencies
should include in their aid programmes activities relating to the campaign
against female genital mutilation and other traditional practices affecting the
health of women and girl children.
Non-governmental
organizations
(68) National and
international non-governmental organizations concerned with protecting the
health of women and children should include in their programmes activities
relating to traditional practices affecting the health of women and girl
children.
(69) International
non-governmental organizations concerned with protecting the health of women and
children should extend their financial and material support to national
non-governmental organizations to ensure the success of their activities.
(70)
Non-governmental organizations already positively engaged in activities for the
elimination of traditional practices affecting the health of women and children
should intensify those activities.
(71) Cooperation
should also take place between non-governmental organizations and Governments in
developing programmes for the retraining of female genital mutilation
practitioners to enable them to achieve financial self-sufficiency through
gainful activities.
(72)
Non-governmental organizations should continue and reinforce their activities in
favour of protecting the human rights of women and girl children, including the
promotion of beneficial traditional practices.
Other
measures
(73) Health workers
should be required to dissociate themselves completely from harmful traditional
practices.
(74) All women
aware of the problem should be called on to react against traditional practices
affecting the health of women and children and to mobilize other women.
(75) Women engaged
in combating traditional practices affecting the health of women and children
should exchange their experience.
Abdalla, Raqiya
Haji Dualeh. Sisters in affliction; circumcision and infibulation of women in
Africa. London, Zed Press, 1982. 122 p. Bibliography.
Dorkenoo, Efua.
Cutting the rose; female genital mutilation: the practice and its prevention.
London, Minority Rights Publications, 1994. 196 p. Bibliography.
Hosken, Fran P. The
Hosken report; genital and sexual mutilation of females. 4th rev. ed. Lexington
(Mass.), Women's International Network News, 1994. 444 p. Bibliography.
Inter-African
Committee on Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children.
Report on the regional seminar on traditional practices affecting the health of
women and children in Africa, 6-10 April 1987, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. 182
p.
United Nations.
Economic and Social Council. Preliminary report submitted by the Special
Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, Ms. Radhika
Coomaraswamy, in accordance with Commission on Human Rights resolution 1994/45.
22 November 1994. 92 p. (E/CN.4/1995/42)
. Economic and
Social Council. Report of the second United Nations regional seminar on
traditional practices affecting the health of women and children, Colombo, Sri
Lanka, 4-8 July 1994. (E/CN.4/Sub.2/1994/10 and Corr.1 and Add.1 and Add.l/Corr.
1)
___. Economic and
Social Council. Report of the United Nations seminar on traditional practices
affecting the health of women and children, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, 29
April-3 May 1991. 12 June 1991. 46 p. (E/CN.4/Sub.2/1991/48)
___. Economic and
Social Council. Report of the Working Group on traditional practices affecting
the health of women and children. 4 February 1986. 50 p. (E/CN.4/1986/42)
Economic and Social
Council. Study on traditional practices affecting the health of women and
children; final report by the Special Rapporteur, Mrs. Halima Embarek Warzazi. 5
July 1991. 39 p. (E/CN.4/Sub.2/1991/6)
___. Economic and
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Notes:
1. For the texts of the international human rights instruments cited in this Fact Sheet, see Human Rights: A Compilation of International Instruments, vol. 1 (2 parts), Universal Instruments (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.94.XIV. 1). [back to the text]
2. See, generally, Fran P. Hosken, The Hosken Report: Genital and Sexual Mutilation of Females,4th rev. ed. (Lexington (Mass.), Women's International Network News, 1994). [back to the text]
3. London, Minority Rights Publications, 1994. [back to the text]
4. A/CONF. 171/13, chap. 1, resolution 1, annex, paras. 4.24 and 4.27. [back to the text]