Last week, Mette travelled to Nairobi to meet the organisers of the Orchid Project - a UK-based NGO that is leading the global movement to end FGM/C. It is estimated that FGM/C (female genital cutting or mutilation) affects 200 million women and girls worldwide, and that two million procedures are performed annually. The practice is still present in 31 countries, and is most prevalent in Sub-Saharan Africa. 

In Kenya alone, 21% of girls and women between the ages of 15 to 49 have undergone some form of FGM, and a move away from ‘medicalised’ cutting conducted by professionals to ‘backroom’ procedures poses a huge threat to Kenya’s women. The Orchid Project partners with grassroots organisations around the world to share knowledge, best practice and to accelerate change. They also work with governments and global leaders.

Poor educational opportunities, high illiteracy rates and limited access to the internet mean that millions of people continue to be excluded from access to the information that may help to end this practice. Through partnering with local organisations and using the power of documentary film, we also aim to spread information about this human rights violation in any way we can.

In the Name of Your Daughter is a deeply moving documentary by filmmaker Giselle Portenier. Set in Tanzania, the film tells the heartbreaking story of Rhobi Samwelly, who was subjected to FGM/C at a young age and now provides a safe house for other women to protect them from the practice. Over the past two years the film has been screened through our outreach partners in Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Tanzania and Afghanistan for all members of the community. 

After a recent  screening in Burkina Faso with Association Cinéma Numérique Ambulant Afrique, one activist reflected: “I fully support this work [to end FGM/C] and thank you for highlighting the struggle for women’s rights around the world”. 

The comment reflects a sentiment we often hear from audiences; that they appreciate seeing issues that they deal with locally, reflected in a different context in a different part of the world.