Significant progress in the fight against Female Genital Mutilation in Liberia

The commemoration was held at the Vezela Vocational and Heritage Centre in Lofa County, Liberia.

To mark the day, the Heritage Centre was handed over to the National Council of Chiefs and Elders of Liberia. The centre is one of four established by UN Women with funding from the Spotlight Initiative to provide dedicated learning space to teach former FGM traditional practitioners new skills to enable them to pursue alternative sources of income to replace FGM. Other heritage centres are in Grand Cape Mount, Montserrado and Nimba counties. Over 800 former traditional practitioners of FGM are benefitting from alternative economic livelihood programs such as climate smart agriculture, business, and vocational skills training.

Traditional ceremonies to enforce the ban on FGM were also conducted. Traditional practitioners from Lofa County surrendered their customary tools used in the practice of FGM to Chief Zanzan Karwor, Chairperson of the National Council of Chiefs and Elders of Liberia (NACCEL), signalling an end to the practice of FGM in the county. A year ago, on 6 February 2023, NACCEL made a historic proclamation to ban the practice of FGM in Liberia. Since then, traditional ceremonies to effectively enforce the ban on FGM have been conducted in five out of 11 FGM practicing counties in Liberia, namely Montserrado, Grand Cape Mount, Nimba, Bong and Lofa counties.

The gesture was applauded by various stakeholders, including representatives from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social Protection, the Embassies of Sweden and the UK, the European Union, JICA, UN Liberia, civil society organizations and local authorities from Lofa, among others who attended the commemoration. Lofa is the fifth county out of the 11 FGM practicing counties to conduct traditional ceremonies.

Antony Akumu Abogi, the United Nations Resident Coordinator a.i., expressed gratitude to the European Union for their support in reducing cases of violence against women and girls in Liberia.

Comfort Lamptey, UN Women Representative for Liberia, delivered a joint statement from UNICEF, UNFPA, UN Women, OHCHR, and WHO, reiterating the UN's commitment to preventing and responding to harmful practices against women and girls. She noted a decline in the prevalence of FGM, highlighting progress achieved over the past three decades.

“We celebrate progress that has been achieved. The practice of FGM has been declining over the last three decades, and in the 31 countries with nationally representative prevalence data, around 1 in 3 girls aged 15 to 19 today have undergone the practice versus 1 in 2 in the 1990s,” read the statement.

In addition, Ms. Lamptey expressed hope that an FGM law will be in place soon to compliment the ban and that there will be stronger partnerships between the traditional leaders and civil society to continue the community engagement and education and will see economic empowerment for all women that have given up their tools and are ready to work to build a better Liberia.

Development partners commended Liberia's efforts in eliminating FGM and reiterated their commitment to supporting initiatives aimed at ending the practice in the country.

Anders Arvidsson, EU Deputy Head of Delegation, emphasized the importance of abandoning harmful practices, stating, "When practices may be harmful to individuals, there is a need for change. Let us move towards a future where young girls are not subjected to FGM to transition into womanhood. Every woman or girl has the right to refuse harmful and potentially life-threatening practices."

Johan Romare, Head of Development Cooperation for the Embassy of Sweden in Liberia affirmed the Government of Sweden’s dedication to partnering with Liberia to promote gender equality and ensure a life of dignity for women and girls.

In addition, Kate Thomson, Deputy Head of Mission for the Embassy of UK highlighted that the UK Government is funding a local organization, HOPE to support alternative livelihoods to former traditional practitioners of FGM and teaching them skills such as tie and dye and soap making, among others, so that they abandon the practice of FGM.

Queen Juli Endee, Chairperson of the Taskforce on Ending FGM in Liberia, emphasized that traditional leaders would continue advocating for the passage of the FGM bill into law, following the establishment of a traditional ban on the practice. “We now have a traditional ban, but we need a law from the national legislature to compliment the ban.” She reiterated that traditional practitioners will continue to uphold their culture and tradition but without FGM and supports the concept of ‘Initiation without mutilation.’

The FGM day in Liberia was characterized by vibrant traditional performances, rituals marking the end of FGM in the county, and entertainment provided by the Liberia Crusaders for Peace.

UN Women supported the Government of Liberia and NACCEL in commemorating FGM Day and conducting traditional ceremonies to enforce the ban on FGM, with funding from the Government of Sweden.