Hanging Out with Experts on Ending Female Genital Mutilation and Cutting

While the International Day of Zero Tolerance for FGM/C has been observed for over 20 years, 2013 was the first year of the day received official UN recognition.

To mark the occasion, and to spread the word about strategies that are having an impact on the ground, UNFPA, UNICEF and the UK’s Department of International Development (DFID) assembled a virtual panel moderated by Maggie O’Kane from the Guardian, London that included:

• Minister Lynne Featherstone, UK Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Development, London, England
• Molly Melching, Director of Tostan, Dakar, Senegal
• Dr. Attef El Shitany, Rapporteur of the National Population council Ministry of Egypt, Cairo, Egypt
• Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, UNFPA Executive Director, New York, USA
• Janet Tumer, a young Ilshamus woman who grew up in a practicing community, Nairobi Kenya.

Hundreds of viewers, from some 100 countries, tuned in to the discussion, which can be viewed in the storify below.

The lively discussion also received a number of comments, questions and tweets from viewers, some of which are captured here.