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Writer's pictureMontse DomínguezMunllonch

Activist Genital Mutilation - Sister Fa.

Sister Fa (real name Fatou Diatta, born 1982 in Dakar, Senegal) is a Senegalese rapper and anti-female genital mutilation (FGM) activist.

Diatta began her career as a rapper in 2000, when she made her first demo tape. The following year, she performed at the Senegal Hip Hop Awards.In 2005, she released her first album, Hip Hop Yaw Law Fal.In 2008, she toured Senegal to raise awareness of the problem of FGM. In 2009, she released her international debut album Sarabah: Tales From the Flipside of Paradise.In 2011, Sarabah, a documentary about Diatta's tour Education Sans Excision (French for Education without Cutting), premiered at the human rights festival Movies That Matter.



Critical reception

Sarabah: Tales From the Flipside of Paradise received a lukewarm review from Jon Lusk of the BBC, who wrote that "too much of the album consists of fairly pedestrian or annoyingly sing-songy melodies that echo playground chants (like Poum Poum Pa) or seem transparently aimed at the ring tone market." In The Daily Telegraph, Mark Hudson gave the album 3 out of 5 stars and wrote that Diatta "pits her gutsy verbalising against exquisite traditional melodies on this well-crafted debut." Rick Anderson reviewed the album for Allmusic, concluding that "It's rare that a hip-hop artist balances lightness, seriousness, funk, and message as successfully as this one does -- especially the first time out.



Research on FGM in the Netherlands


Female genital mutilation (FGM), also known as female genital cutting, female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and female circumcision,[a] is the ritual cutting or removal of some or all of the external female genitalia. The practice is found in some countries of Africa, Asia and the Middle East, and within communities abroad from countries in which FGM is common. UNICEF estimated, in 2016, that 200 million women in 30 countries—Indonesia, Iraqi Kurdistan, Yemen, and 27 African countries—had been subjected to one or more types of FGM.


Age

FGM usually takes place between the ages of 4 and 12. But in some cultures, baby girls are already being circumcised a few days after birth. Also, FGM may take place just before a girl’s wedding. As a result of migration, circumcision may take place at a different age than considered normal in the culture of origin.


Origin and religion

The exact origin of FGM is not clear. In Egypt, mummies have been found of circumcised women dating from 2000 BC. The tradition is often associated with Islam. However, FGM is not mentioned in the Quran as a religious requirement, nor in the hadith. There are countries where Islam is the main religion but where FGM does not occur. Furthermore, FGM is also practiced by (Coptic) Christians and animist communities. In some regions, this pre-Christian and pre-Islamic practice has become intertwined with religion.


Health problems

Female genital mutilation can cause physical, psychological and sexual problems. There is a high probability these problems will occur, both shortly after surgery and in the long term. Most problems develop after an infibulation. Women and girls do not necessary relate the health problems they experience to FGM.


  • In 2005, the Board of Health (RVZ) investigated whether girls were being circumcised in the Netherlands. The study focused on girls who had migrated from risk countries to the Netherlands. This small study showed that FGM does occur in the Netherlands. The RVZ estimated at the time that at least 50 girls were being circumcised in the Netherlands each year.

  • In 2008, TNO did a retrospective study on the prevalence of FGM in all midwifery practices. This study showed that 4 out of 10 pregnant women from risk countries who give birth in the Netherlands were circumcised.

  • In 2013, Pharos conducted the first prevalence and incidence study on FGM in the Netherlands. According to the study an estimated 29,000 circumcised women lived in the Netherlands and approximately 40 to 50 girls were at risk annually.

  • In 2017, Pharos conducted a study on circumcised women’s experiences with general practitioners in the Netherlands. An English article was published of this study: Female genital mutilation and women’s healthcare experiences with general practitioners in the Netherlands: A qualitative study

  • In 2019, Pharos conducted a comparison study on FGM estimates based on direct estimation and the extrapolation-model. An English article was published of this study: Estimates of female genital mutilation/cutting in the Netherlands: a comparison between a nationwide survey in midwifery practices and extrapolation-model.

Together we are committed to eliminating violence against women and girls [CEDAW arts. sixteen; DEVAW Arts. 1-4; CRC arts. 24(3), 35]


References

  1. ^ Jump up to:a b Mossman, Kate (16 February 2013). "Sister Fa: African rapper with a cause". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 March 2016.

  2. ^ Jump up to:a b c "Biography". Sisterfa.com. Archived from the original on 18 July 2017. Retrieved 30 March 2016.

  3. For the countries in which labia stretching is found (Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe), see Nzegwu 2011, 262; for the rest, Bagnol & Mariano 2011, 272–276 (272 for Uganda).



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