A refocusing of German and international development cooperation with tangible results in partner countries is helping to strengthen the human rights of girls and women.
An active role in German development cooperation
The supraregional project, in cooperation with local NGOs, has developed and documented a variety of good practices for the elimination of female genital mutilation (FGM). German development cooperation projects and programmes are now using these approaches in eight countries: Mali, Burkina Faso, Mauritania, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Benin, Kenya and Egypt. In the process, the supraregional project has contributed to a paradigm shift that has also been noted in international discussion: the mainstreaming of the issue of FGM within the field of good governance – in other words, outside of the classic sectors health and education. Thus the programme for the promotion of good governance in Mauritania integrates information and dialogue about FGM into training modules for community representatives and political decision-makers and also into measures promoting the rights of women and girls. Additionally, dialogue forums with Islamic scholars and spiritual leaders have led to open discussion about women's rights and harmful traditional practices. In Benin, too, the organisation of a 'civil society forum' created a broad social platform to prevent any resurgence of the practice.
All German implementing organisations – KfW and GIZ – are now active in the struggle against female genital mutilation. One challenge is to see that there is good networking among them and sensible coordination of their activities. Formal agreements on cooperation in the field of FGM within German development cooperation have been reached in Burkina Faso and Sierra Leone, and similar processes are being given active support in Kenya and Guinea.
The subject of FGM is being addressed as part of the work of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) regarding strategy development and publication relations. FGM is also raised increasingly during government negotiations with partner countries. As a result, the number of countries in which measures to end FGM have been integrated into projects and programmes has continually increased. GIZ support has contributed to mainstreaming FGM within the range of development cooperation instruments.
Dialogue and networking
'Together we get it together’. Taking its cue from this maxim, GIZ is active in Germany and throughout the world to support efforts to combine forces and exchange experience with others. At the initiative of GIZ, INTEGRA, a network of German organisations promoting an end to genital mutilation, was founded in 2005. Networking and dialogue have made people more aware of the need for action with regard to FGM in Germany as well. A working group, coordinated by BMZ, and made up of representatives of the German Government, the German federal states and non-governmental organisations, is in the process of drafting a national plan of action in response to requests from the Bundestag (the German Federal parliament) and appeals from civil society.
There has been positive resonance on the international level as well. On behalf of BMZ, GIZ has been active in the Donors Working Group on FGM/C, in which major donors have joined together in an anti-FGM network. This active cooperation has brought influence to bear on the formulation of a common position by the donor community and raised the profile of German development cooperation at international level.
