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Tostan Community Empowerment Program - FGC Abandonment (West Africa)

Senegal, Africa

Tostan's Community Empowerment Program (CEP) uses human rights-based education to facilitate collective abandonment of female genital cutting (FGC) and child marriage across West and East Africa. Since the first public declaration in Malicounda Bambara, Senegal (1997), over 8,830 communities representing 5.5 million people have declared abandonment of FGC and early marriage. The approach emphasizes community-led decision-making through dialogue, storytelling, and cultural learning. In Senegal, FGC prevalence fell by more than half in declaring villages. UNICEF evaluation: only 24% of women in participating villages intended daughters to undergo FGC vs. 44% in non-participating communities. The model is endorsed by the Government of Senegal and integrated into their national FGC abandonment strategy. Benefits extend beyond FGC to democracy, health, literacy, gender equality, and reduced violence.

Behavior Goal

Achieve collective community decision to abandon FGC and child marriage; transform social norms through human rights education; promote gender equality and democracy

Methods & Approaches

Community Mobilization

Implementers & Partners

  • Tostan

Donors & Sponsors

  • UNICEF
  • Multiple donors

Key Takeaways

  • 1Community-led decisions are more sustainable than external impositions
  • 2Public declarations create collective commitment and social accountability
  • 3Organized diffusion spreads norms through kinship networks - viral change
  • 4Human rights framing resonates across diverse cultural contexts
  • 5Holistic approach (democracy, health, literacy) reinforces FGC abandonment

Sources

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