State Department, USAID Blog Posts Support Elimination Of FGM/C

In support of the ninth annual International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation, Melanne Verveer, ambassador-at-large for global women's issues, and David Robinson, acting assistant secretary of state for population, refugees and migration, outline several examples of U.S. advocacy and funding related to stopping the practice of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) in this post on the State Department's "DipNote" blog. They call on governments and international donors to "overturn deeply entrenched social norms that are not only harmful to women and girls, but to our communities and societies" (2/6). In a post on USAID's "IMPACTblog," Sandra Jordan, communication and outreach adviser for USAID's Bureau for Global Health, writes, "The single most important aspect of ending this practice is involving the community. USAID focuses on enabling and empowering communities to make their own collective choice to abandon FGM/C" (2/6).