Khaberni - The Sudanese government announced in a statement on Saturday evening its commitment to ending female genital mutilation by 2030 through coordinated and sustainable efforts aimed at eradicating this harmful practice from society.
In a statement issued by the Ministry of Social Welfare on the occasion of the International Day for Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation, the government stated, "It is committed to protecting the rights of girls and preserving their dignity, and ending this harmful practice in line with national legislation and regional and international treaties ratified."
The transitional Sudanese government banned what it called the practice of female genital mutilation in 2020, in a move hailed by local and international human rights organizations as a major victory for women's rights advocates in a country where this dangerous practice is prevalent.
Since the law was enacted, anyone in Sudan involved in the process of female genital mutilation will face a potential sentence of three years in prison and a fine under Article 141 of the Sudanese Criminal Law, approved by the transitional government that came to power after the overthrow of Omar al-Bashir’s regime.
Although UNICEF praised this step, the international organization emphasized that abandoning this practice is not limited to legal reform alone, but also requires more efforts to raise awareness among different groups, including midwives, healthcare providers, parents, and youth.
Female genital mutilation has been practiced throughout Sudan, with dozens of victims, and local and global organizations have not stopped trying to change people’s awareness and abolish this bad practice. Indeed, attitudes were changing, as four states (South Kordofan, Al Qadarif, South Darfur, and the Red Sea) out of 18 states in Sudan enacted local laws to criminalize or ban genital mutilation starting from 2008, but the implementation of the measures met with modest success, resulting in no prosecutions, according to the organization "28toomany".
In the same year, concurrently with these laws launched by the four states, UNICEF launched the "Salima" campaign urging the Sudanese community to change misconceptions and protect girls from the process of amputating the reproductive organs.
"Salima" means a girl who is complete and enjoys physical and mental health without being harmed and without being altered from the form in which God created her. The initiative, which uses media to spread its message as widely as possible, was accepted by many community members and welcomed by the state at that time, although it was resisted by some extremist leaders.
This resistance led to the stalling of the passing of a legal amendment in 2016 to criminalize female genital mutilation, which remained in the drawers waiting for approval by the parliament until it was approved by the transitional government in 2020.
