Hi Molly,

Such inspiring work -- my congratulations to you and everyone you work with for the way you treat this issue -- you seem to take an approach that's gentle and respectful, yet committed.

How do you reconcile the human rights of the girls affected by FGC on one hand with the rights of families and communities to carry out their cultural beliefs on the other?

- Jeff, Denver, Colorado, USA

when you say "families, communities" and "cultural beliefs," i think it's really important to take into account what these things actually mean in cultures that are constructed patriarchally and organized in large part around violence against women and children, whose voices are often silenced. the kind of cultural relativism that says that torture is okay if it's been practiced in a place for along time is incredibly dangerous, and such rhetoric was often used to justify slavery and the denial of the rights of women, children, and other minorities who often have no say in designing the practices used against them and their bodies.

Congratulations on your great achievements. I teach a grade 12 (17 year olds) World Issues course in Ontario, Canada and we discuss and debate issues such as FGC. However, I tell my students that, even though this type of activity seems barnaric to many people, we cannot judge those involved because we have not lived their lives nor do we totally understand their culture. However, they still find it difficult to accept that this goes on in their world. What other strategies or lessons can i teach them to help them understand situations like yours and how can they assist, even from such a far-away place like Canada? Thank you.
Ed Mizzi, Geography teacher, Notre Dame High School, Burlington, Canada,

we can nevertheless teach students to develop an ethics in which we do not stop at saying torture is "barbaric," but rather ground cultural practices and beliefs in the systems that create them, and critique those systems based on the ways in which their power dynamics oppress, harm and silence minorities, women, and children within the dominant culture.

Congratulations Molly,

I have heard about some of your future plans and the inroads you are making in Africa with many programs beside ones which focus on FGC. Those are inspirational to me also, especially your work with young boys who are begging in the streets and the radio programs, and your educational programs.

A couple of other issues are near and dear to my heart and I would like to know more. (I have a daughter with autism and I am currently working with young adults with mental illness.) What is it like being disabled in Africa? Is there anything I can learn from those who work in Senegal or other parts of Africa?

Pauline Banducci
Monterey, MA USA

Chere Molly,
Working with you and all of the other amazing people in the Tostan family was an experienced that turned my world right side up... Thank you not only for allowing me to be apart of that exchange, but more importantly, thank you for all the dedicated, hard work you have done for all of the communities affected by the Tostan program; a true testiment to where ideas and love can take us. Congratulations, and a loving hello to all of you!

Dear Molly,

First of all, I would like to express respect for your great work. I am studing a correlation of gender-based violence with repercussion of culture or custom. I think that the issue is closely involved in your work and it is not uncomplicated for women to obtain such kind of right within patriarchal societies not only in Africa but in advanced countries. Under the situation which there is a bias against women, namely female genital cutting, how do you make men deepen an understanding of the issue, embroil the movement and participate it?

I am looking forward to your reply to my inquiry. Thank you.

Faithfully,
Shuhei Takami
Department of Peace Studies
University of Bradford
England

I realize there is a conflict between respecting the human rights of girls and respecting the autonomy of indigenous peoples when addressing this issue. It appears that you have been successful in navigating this difficult passage. I believe women throughout the world applaud your success and encourage you in this work. We would also like to know how you do it.

Dear Molly,

First of all, congratulations to you and everyone you work with for launching such an incredible initiative to ensure women's rights around the world!

What I find most inspiring about your work on FGC is how committed you are to respecting local cultures and ensuring that the decision to abandon FGC is made from within the community -- a process that is surely correlated to the extraordinary number of Senegalese villages that have abandoned the practice. So, first my question is, do you think this kind of community education model could and/or should be extended to advance other human rights? Do you think this model is particularly suited to dealing with human rights issues in West Africa, or could you see it being successfully replicated on an international level? And do you know of any other programs that use similar approaches to dealing with human rights issues around the world?

Thank you for taking the time to answer all our questions and, again, congratulations on your wonderful work!

Sincerely,

Ida, Washington, DC, USA

I wonder if the initiative for female circuncision comes from men or from women themselves?Why from men?
What is the reason or the foundation for such kind of practice for girls?Do they themselves need to do such kind of things?

I applaud your work - and incredible patience - imagine the outcry if a "socially approved" practice was to remove the penis from the male -

it would have stopped before it started!!!

God bless you in your work!