Women Wake Up (WOWAP)

WOWAP relies on social mobilisation and grassroots activism with the help of trained change agents and an advocacy committee in each village. In order to encourage these communities to end FGM, WOWAP has engaged in the following specific community-based activities to raise awareness and encourage dialogue:

Training - Different stakeholders were trained on the elimination of FGM. According to WOWAP, the strategy is to address FGM holistically, within a community development strategy, using culturally sensitive and non-judgmental approaches and engaging a wide range of participants and stakeholders. Fifty-four community facilitators were recruited and trained to facilitate grassroots activism to end FGM. Participants learned about the human rights guaranteed in international and national documents, their rights to health, their right to protection against all forms of violence, and their right to education. A number of outreach activities to educate community members about FGM were also implemented. The activities included lectures for church and mosque groups and seminars with women's groups.

Acquiring of audio-visual equipment - This equipment was purchased to show videos to the community to promote the welfare of women and girls. According to WOWAP, the use of the video show approach in the context of eradicating female genital cutting has produced positive results. The videos have been designed to convince family members to abandon the practice of FGM and are accompanied by facilitated group discussions. The video shows the hazards of FGM and the importance of women's health and empowerment. In the video, women describe the physical, emotional, and spiritual damage they attributed to their own FGM; mothers lament having put their daughters through the process. One man also tells of his sister's death from FGM.

Monitoring/project review/evaluation - The team of WOWAP supervisors monitors, reviews, and evaluates activities. Members of the village advocacy committee participate in the process.

Women, Rights, Health.

According to WOWAP, though FGM was banned in Tanzania in 1998, the practice is still occurring. One of the main factors behind the persistence of FGM is its social significance for females. In this area, a woman achieves social recognition mainly through marriage and childbearing. Men in this community refuse to marry women who have not undergone circumcision (who are thus "unmarriageable"). Therefore, to be uncircumcised is to exclude oneself from social status and achievements in the social community. Furthermore, the father of the circumcised girl is given a considerable amount in bride price payment.

Focus groups and interviews with community members confirmed that community members’ knowledge on FGM has increased and that they have changed their attitude on the practice of FGM. After 6 months of project life, it appeared that the project had successfully mobilised a number of people as anti-FGM advocates, encouraged trainees to abandon their own support of FGM, and sensitised the community about the harmful effects of FGM. The information gained through project review, monitoring, and mid-term evaluation were crucial in adjusting project activities.

According to the project the following are some of the lessons learned:

• Involving potential "change agents" from various community groups is key to project success.
• Participatory training approaches established a good base for project implementation and helped to promote "community ownership" of the project.
• Publicity and press coverage have helped the movement spread beyond the initial 3 villages.
• In order to sustain high-quality volunteer work, paid, dedicated staff must be part of programme.
• Campaigns aimed at changing deeply-rooted behaviours take time and intervention efforts must be maintained long enough for new behaviours to become the norm.