This month's theme for our Annual Campaign #endFGMmyths is "In Europe, are women's genitalia treated with respect?".
This week, we decided to dive in history to find out what the past can teach us! Read our thread on “The construct of a virginity imposed on women" 👇
❓ What is virginity? It qualifies people who have not had sexual intercourse. This definition raises questions, as noted by @hanneblank in her book “Virgin: The Untouched History”. ⬇️
✅The truth is that the concept of virginity has always been oriented especially towards women and girls.
👉 A male centred heteronormative perspective has placed the act of penetration (penis+vagina) as the only sexual intercourse considered to assess virginity.
From Greek mythology to monotheist religions, female virginity is constructed as a symbol of purity & honour.
Although there is no inherent problem with choosing to remain virgin, the honour-related judgement that's only linked to female bodies creates deep gender inequalities.
Traditionally, blood on the bed sheets after the wedding night were seen as proof of the woman's virginity.
It's a common belief that the hymen's integrity is related to women’s virginity➡️even though the hymen can rip for other reasons than having sex & can remain after sex🤔
Virginity is one’s decision. But historically, the sole focus on women and on their hymens’ integrity is at the root of harmful practices seeking control over female bodies.
To find out more on the topic, stay tuned and follow us in the coming weeks! #endFGMmyths
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Talk 3 of the @baadon1 event with @morissanda and our Director @AnnaWidegren talking about "Sexual Rights and Healthcare Advocacy in the movement against FGM"
"Access to information for Survivors of FGM in Europe, especially if they are asylum seekers, is critical."
"There's a lack of services particularly targeting Children and Youth, and this is a problem as most (not all) cases of FGM happen before the age of 15." @AnnaWidegren
"Community members have a key role in advocating against the practice as well as in ensuring access to information. Our Youth Ambassadors are a great example of this, they created the #PurpleChair YouTube series specifically to raise awareness and empower others to speak up."
Speech by EU Commissioner for Equality @helenadalli
"To end FGM we need to explore all solutions. We need to support the work of local and community based organisation, as they are best place to address the practice on the ground."
#Hadeel spoke about the Purple Chair series and how Youth activist have been using videos on Youtube to raise awareness on FGM, GBV, access to services and knowing your rights.
This year, for the #16DaysOfActivism, we are sharing about different (& original) ways to do activism against #GBV every day!
Today, let's talk about a traditional way for women to fight for their rights and ideals, but with a spin! 👇 #orangetheworld
Lysistrata, an anti-war comedy by the Greek playwright Aristophanes, talks about a sex strike 💪
The women in the play, led by Lysistrata, want the Peloponnesian War to end, so they stop having sex with their husbands as a strategy to secure the peace.
And nowadays?
Let's talk about three different sex strikes!
1⃣ Huelga de piernas cruzadas ("The strike of crossed legs"), Pereira (Colombia), September 2006 ▶️ A strike to curb gang violence.
This month, for our Annual Campaign #endFGMmyths, we are answering the question "Are some forms of FGM less harmful than others?" 🤔
Today, we want to talk about medicalised FGM and why it's not less harmful than other forms of FGM!
❓ What is medicalised FGM?
▶️ It's when FGM is carried out in a hospital environment.
❓ Why does it happen? 👇
❓ Why shouldn't be accepted?
👉It doesn't necessarily lead to a lesser impact on Survivors' life.
👉Replacing one form of FGM with another won't necessarily lead to it being abandoned.
👉It can make raising awareness on FGM more difficult, as health professionals support it.