Proposals to Combat Female Genital Mutilation

Speaking at the 1997 Violence Against Women: International Solutions Symposium, as a representative of the non-governmental organization, the author discusses two case studies in order to demonstrate the issues attached to female genital mutilation and the work of the organization to combat the problem. The first case study centres on a women from the country of Togo who was denied political asylum in the United States on the grounds that she was not persecuted for belonging to a particular social group. The second case study involves the medicalization of genital mutilation by the Eygptian Minister of Health in 1994. In closing, the author speaks of some of the obstacles faced by FGM activists and some of the challenges yet to be overcome in this struggle. [Descriptors: Reproductive Rights - Female Genital Cutting, International]