For me, the well-being of African women and girls is both a professional and personal matter. I underwent female genital mutilation, or FGM, at age 7 in Djibouti, East Africa. I am one of 200 million affected individuals around the world, with an additional 4.3 million at risk every year.
Foundations in the United States, however, have long hesitated to invest in what is often seen as an African problem. That needs to change. Grant makers must stop turning a blind eye to one of the greatest systematic abuses of women in the world.
The highest rates of FGM are found in the East Africa nations of Djibouti, Somaliland, and Somalia, where 98 percent of women and girls have been subjected to the practice, which involves cutting, removing, and sometimes sewing up external female genitalia. Those who survive often have problems with urination, menstruation, and sex, and face a lifetime of potential psychological trauma. Affected girls are also less likely to get an education or have economic opportunities as adults.
Yet, there is next to no funding — about a dollar or two for each woman affected — to address this extreme form of violence and to support African activists working at the grassroots level where real change is taking place.
To engage more donors, the Five Foundation, which I co-founded in 2019 to bring new funding to women activists in Africa, hosted the first-ever FGM Philanthropy Summit in London this spring. We brought together some of the world’s largest foundations to devise plans for finally eliminating the practice in this generation. Those in attendance included representatives from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, Co-Impact, and the Estée Lauder Companies Charitable Foundation. Julie Gillard, the former Australian prime minister and chair of the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership, was our guest speaker.
Ripple Effects
It was obvious to those of us in the room that a stronger argument was needed for why ending FGM is so vital to girls’ health and well-being — and why more donors need to step up their investments in this area. Breaking the cycle of abuse in the early years of a girl’s life can set in motion a series of positive ripple effects, making it far more likely that she can avoid child marriage, receive an education, enjoy better health, and contribute economically to her community.
Yet, no large global foundation prioritizes funding efforts to eradicate this life-changing abuse, which is largely hidden from view and easy to ignore.
Funding these efforts is relatively inexpensive but will take a sustained commitment to local African activists, who are already doing this work and are trusted in their communities. New evidence from the Kuria region of Kenya shows that if money is directed to groups on the ground, a single girl at risk of FGM can be protected for just $14.
Groups such as Msichana Empowerment Kuria, Safe Engage Foundation, and Zinduka are proving that even small investments can be transformative. These women-led programs focus on keeping girls educated and safe from FGM while also working with the larger communities, including men and boys, to change attitudes and behaviors.
The good news is that recent government and philanthropic efforts are starting to show what’s possible. The Equality Fund, which was started with a large donation from the Canadian government, recently received a commitment of more than $41 million from the United Kingdom for grassroots activism in Africa, including efforts to end FGM.
Funding like this could be a game changer, assuming it gets to the groups that need it most. Philanthropy can set an example by directing funding to African grassroots groups, partnering with them on projects, and trusting them to deliver the desired results.
This work is hard. Changing social norms, which is necessary to end FGM, will take time and persistence. The challenges are compounded by huge population growth in many countries where the practice is prevalent, which means more girls will be at risk each year.
For grant makers interested in learning more about how they can make a difference, the Population Council’s review of the evidence is a helpful guide to what works to end FGM. The report points to several areas that would benefit from philanthropic investments.
Start With the Mothers
At the top of the list is educating mothers. Mothers are the front line when it comes to protecting girls at risk. When moms are persuaded to oppose FGM, the practice often ends in their families. Intensive meetings with mothers in groups is a time-consuming but essential part of grassroots advocacy.
Health education, community dialogues with parents and religious leaders, and communication campaigns also help change attitudes. These approaches all involve months if not yearslong efforts to persuade people to stop practicing FGM themselves and to intervene if they know it’s happening.
More research is needed to determine the effectiveness of these tactics, and if behavioral change is sustained for the long term — another place where philanthropic support would help.
I hope that grant makers will collaborate and co-fund where possible, too, including signing up to be part of the FGM Donor Working Group, hosted by the United Nations-UNICEF Joint Programme on the Elimination of Female Genital Mutilation. We meet every December to discuss challenges and opportunities to ensure all girls at risk are protected.
The United Nations and other international organizations have set a goal of ending FGM by 2030. Against the odds, that remains possible. Philanthropists willing to join this work and increase support for African activists will enter a relatively open space. They have an opportunity to make a real difference — and change the life trajectory for millions of girls.
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