Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09OUAGADOUGOU450
2009-06-05 12:00:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Ouagadougou
Cable title:  

FEMALE ECISION IN BURKINA FASO

Tags:  KOCI KWMN PHUM SOCI UV 
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ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 051200Z JUN 09
FM AMEMBASSY OUAGADOUGOU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5054
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 OUAGADOUGOU 000450 

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR G/IWI AND AF/W

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KOCI KWMN PHUM SOCI UV
SUBJECT: FEMALE ECISION IN BURKINA FASO

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 OUAGADOUGOU 000450

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR G/IWI AND AF/W

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KOCI KWMN PHUM SOCI UV
SUBJECT: FEMALE ECISION IN BURKINA FASO


1. Summary: Burkina Fao has attempted to eradicate the practice
of femle excision for over fifty years and officially outawed the
practice over a decade ago; however, th prevalence rate among girls
and women has not canged. In fact, the Government of Burkina Fas
(GOBF) recently announced that circumcisers and supporters of
excision have developed a strategy to thwart the law by turning
their razors to girls under the age of five. Recent attempts to
attack the demand for excision with information campaigns are
yielding some encouraging results. But Burkina Faso's efforts to
eradicate excision will not be fruitful unless it starts to enforce
its own laws by bringing circumcisers and supporters of excision to
justice. End Summary.

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Background
--------------


2. In Burkina Faso, excision is a cultural practice that is
attributed to fertility, purity and loyalty, and it is practiced
equally among Christians, Muslims and animists. The procedure makes
young girls eligible for marriage and gives circumcisers enhanced
status in their communities. In addition to the prestige, excision
is a lucrative business for the female circumcisers and their
families. Circumcisers often pass their skills from mother to
daughter, assuring that families keep their social and economic
status in society for years to come.


3. Early attempts by French religious leaders and post-independence
political leaders to eliminate excision met stiff cultural
opposition. In the early 1950s, describing the practice as
"barbaric," French Catholic priests threatened to permanently
excommunicate members who excised their daughters. The majority of
the population, however, dismissed the church's effort as a colonial
attempt to rid Burkina Faso of its culture and values. In 1960,
President Morris Yameogo, Burkina Faso's first president after
independence, attempted to outlaw excision by portraying it as a
practice that stymied development and violated human rights.
However, Yameogo quickly abandoned the effort when confronted with
vocal opposition from local elders. Finally in 1996, Burkina Faso
outlawed female excision, making the practice punishable by up to 10
years in prison and US$1500 in fines.


4. However, over the past decade, Burkina Faso has not seen a
statistically significant decrease in the excision prevalence rate.

The overall rate among all ages in Burkina Faso remains
seventy-three percent today compared to seventy-six percent in 1998.
In addition, in January, the GOBF acknowledged that there has
actually been an increase in circumcisions among girls younger than
five because circumcisers are turning their razors to younger girls.
They prefer younger children because it is easy to hide babies'
screams from unsuspecting neighbors and law enforcement personnel
during excision ceremonies. The percentage of excisions performed
on girls younger than five years old has increased from twenty
percent in 1998 to thirty-one percent in 2003.

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Challenges to Eradicating Excision
--------------


5. One of the challenges to eradicating excision is the failure to
reach the right stakeholders including men, religious leaders and
political leaders. Circumcision of girls in Burkina Faso rarely
takes place without the permission of fathers. However, portraying
circumcision as a "women's issue" has led to the exclusion of
important stakeholders and decision makers. Furthermore, studies
show that anti-excision messages are more likely to be received
positively if it originated from a local leader, but mayors and
parliamentarian representatives are often reluctant to advocate for
the eradication of excision for fear of losing elections. Moreover,
Burkina Faso's effort to eradicate excision has placed greater
emphasis on the supply side of the practice as opposed to curbing
the demand for the service. For example, to discourage women from
performing circumcisions, Burkina Faso organized several
"alternative employment programs," which provided circumcisers with
training to gain new skills that would eventually enable them to
engage in alternative income generating activities. However, an
evaluation of these programs revealed that they had missed their
target audience and had enrolled mostly non-practitioners who were
just looking for job training. On rare occasions when circumcisers
stopped the practice, the demand for services in some villages
produced new providers, thwarting the small gains made by the
programs.


6. Lack of funding is also a hindrance to the government's efforts
to end female excision. In 2008, the National Committee against
Excision only received $60,000 from the state's budget. As a
result, the Committee relies heavily on volunteers to help educate
the population and enforce the law. For example, even though the
GOBF has a toll free call center that can be used to report a crime
related to excision, investigations are often carried out by
volunteers because the Committee does not have the resources to hire

OUAGADOUGO 00000450 002 OF 002


law enforcement officials. The lack of gendarmerie presence in
remote villages also contributes to the problem. There are only 22
gendarmerie brigades in Burkina Faso's 46 provinces, and arresting
circumcisers or investigating crimes involving excision does not
rank among their highest priorities. As a result, residents of
large cities often go to remote villages to have their daughters
circumcised in order to avoid being caught.

--------------
Renewed Effort and Commitment
--------------


7. Recently, in an effort to reach audiences in remote villages,
the GOBF has started training groups of men and women to carry out
information campaigns throughout the country. Through this program,
the GOBF, with assistance from international partners, has conducted
campaigns in 1,149 villages throughout the country and educated
villagers about the relationship between excision and human rights,
explained the negative health consequences of excisions and
encouraged villagers to abandon the practice. The campaigns
included religious leaders and elders in an attempt to include as
many stake holders in the effort as possible. To this end, the
Government of Japan has recently announced its intention to give
$2.7 million to the World Bank over next seven years to work with
communities and NGOs in Burkina Faso to conduct similar campaigns in
additional villages to reduce both the demand and supply side of
excision.


8. According to the World Bank's Health Specialist Tshiya Subayi,
there is an effort to change the context within which excision is
discussed. Discussing excision uniquely as a women's rights or a
reproductive health issue excludes a large segment of the
population. As a result, the World Bank is currently working on
establishing a link between excision and economic development. It
costs the government more money to provide prenatal medical services
to excised than to non-excised women and infant mortality rates
among circumcised women are dramatically higher than non-excised
mothers. Ms. Subayi believes that establishing a link between
excision and economic development could give government officials
the incentive for stronger political will to end the practice.


9. While First Lady Chantal Compaore has remained the Honorary
President of the Permanent Secretariat since its creation, she has
recently taken a more vocal and visible role in the Committee to end
the practice of excision. In addition to chairing anti-excision
campaign activities and recording public service announcements, she
is currently serving as the Honorary Ambassador to Inter-African
effort to eradicate female excision. Her visible role in the
Committee has led to an increase in public awareness of the issue.
Furthermore, in addition to running an aggressive public awareness
campaign on TV and radio stations in several languages throughout
the country, the GOBF is considering adding lessons about excision
in school to educate the youth about its detrimental effects.


10. Comment: Even though the GOBF has increased its efforts to
carry out more information campaigns targeting excision in Burkina
Faso, it is unlikely to see a change unless it begins to enforce the
law against the parents who seek to circumcise their daughters and
the women that provide excision services. Sensitization campaigns
and establishing links between excision and economic development
will not make a difference unless the population is convinced that
there are legal consequences for breaking the law.


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