Live in the DC Metro area? We encourage you to join WeWillSpeakOut.US member the Global Woman PEACE Foundation for a 5K Walk to end female genital mutilation on November 8th at 9am.
GLOBAL WOMAN P.E.A.C.E. FOUNDATION TO HOLD 5K-WALK TO END FGM
June 16, 2014: Fairfax, VA. – Global Woman P.E.A.C.E. Foundation announced today their first annual 5K Walk against female genital mutilation. Save the Date! Walk to End FGM, which is what the 501c3 organization calls the event is scheduled for Saturday, November 8, 2014. Walk to End FGM will commence with a pre-walk program at 9:00 in the morning. Following the program, the crowd will then walk from the Washington, D.C. Monument along the Tidal Basin path, past the Memorials and back to the Monument.
The first three walkers to reach the finish line will receive medals of appreciation. The purpose of the 5K Walk is to raise awareness against FGM. Official registration begins in two weeks. The organization made the announcement 120 hours after U.S. Representatives Joe Crowley (D-NY) and Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX) joined FGM survivor, Jaha Dukureh and Equality Now in a press conference. The two members of Congress called for immediate action to protect American girls from the harmful practice of female genital mutilation. The Representatives called for the Administration to develop a comprehensive cross-agency strategy to better protect American girls. The call for action came after FGM survivor Jaha successfully collected more than 200,000 signatures in a campaign through Change.org. Present at the press conference were the President and Treasurer of Global Woman P.E.A.C.E. Foundation, Angela Peabody and Arnold DeShield. “Victory was claimed today against FGM,” remarked Peabody, who recently authored a book on the heinous practice. Later in the evening, Peabody joined Dr. E. Faye Williams, Chair of the National Congress of Black Women on satellite radio to discuss the dangers of FGM. Peabody explained to the listening audience what “vacation cutting” is. “American girls are taken to their parents’ native countries during the summer months to be mutilated,” Peabody said. “This is high season for vacation cutting, now that the summer is here.”
Global Woman P.E.A.C.E. Foundation has been an advocate for girls and women against the practice of FGM since its founding. More recently, the organization held focus groups to discuss and garner ideas for a support system to assist FGM victims and survivors. They have teamed up with like-minded organizations to establish an effective support system, which includes a hotline with trained counselors, career assistance and capacity building for the girls affected by female genital mutilation. The organization saw the need for an effective support system when young women began to divulge in confidence to the organization that their external genitals had been removed at an early age, and they still suffer the emotional affects.
In a recent interview, journalist and FGM survivor, Eva Flomo, discussed female genital mutilation with Angela Peabody. For the entire interview, click on the link below: