Confronting Female Genital Mutilation
The Role of Youth and ICTs in Changing Africa
It is not possible, in Africa or elsewhere, to think about the issue of female genital mutilation (FGM) – excision – in the same way as 25 years ago. Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are no longer a novelty, and increased access to information and ideas has contributed to wider discussion. Beliefs and practices are shifting, particularly among young people. FGM is no longer the private concern only of women – it is a social and political issue that concerns both men and women.
How can we re-examine the impact of 25 years of concerted action aimed at eliminating FGM in Francophone West Africa? Why, how, by whom and for whom has the digital revolution been used over the past 10 years to achieve that end? If young people – both female and male – are the big winners in the digital revolution, how were they involved in this undertaking that concerns them intimately as victims, subjects, objects, actors, citizens, leaders and family and community stakeholders? What gender issues do excision and ICTs raise? Why and how would it be appropriate and even essential to incorporate them into a strategic vision of citizen, public, private and personal development?
In this age of the internet, the task of abolishing FGM in Africa and constructing a tradition worthy of being passed on must include young people – whose way of living in this world is by being connected, by moving to and fro between the local and the global.
This book reports on an innovative research and action project amongst girls and boys in Burkina Faso, Mali and Senegal to explore whether young people's use of information technology could contribute to the abandonment of FGM. It shows how, in the era of 'globalised citizenship', a cross-sectional vision that puts young people and gender at the centre of development can produce real change.
Title Confronting Female Genital Mutilation
Subtitle The Role of Youth and ICTs in Changing Africa
Publisher Pambazuka Press
Imprint Fahamu Books
BISAC Subject Heading SOC042000 SOCIAL SCIENCE / Developing Countries
SOC032000 SOCIAL SCIENCE / Gender Studies
BIC Subject Heading PDR Impact of science & technology on society
JFSJ Gender studies, gender groups
Audience 01 General / trade
Audience Activists, campaigners, NGO-workers, academics, journalists, commentators
Title First Published 14 July 2011
Subject Scheme Identifier Code 93 Thema subject category: PDR 93 Thema subject category: JBSF
Includes Index; Bibliography; Appendices
Nb of pages 106 p. Index . Bibliography . Appendices .
Publication Date 14 July 2011
Main content page count 106
illustrations, black & white
Dimensions 12.9 x 19.8 cm
Weight 202 gr
List Price £14.95