How Tostan has helped eliminate genital cutting: PBS special
July 19, 2011 by Sally Farhat KassabWatch the full episode. See more Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly.
Skoll Awardee Tostan was featured on PBS’ Religion and Ethics Newsweekly this past weekend. The PBS crew spent three days in Senegal learning about Tostan’s Community Empowerment Programin the Kaolack region.
Watch the entire segment above. Here, an excerpt about the powerful work Tostan is doing to help eliminate genital cutting, a practice that was widespread for years.
JOURNALIST DE SAM LAZARO: But how did women in conservative, patriarchal societies become able to speak out, especially on a sensitive sexual topic? Melching says it’s because Tostan involves men and religious leaders who’ve confirmed that cutting is not required.
MOLLY MELCHING, Executive Director, Tostan: We share our modules with the religious leaders so that they see that everything we do is for the well-being of the community, the health, and all these things are things that Islam espouses, and so they’re very happy in general, but first of all they’re happy because we start with them. We respect them.