Gender and Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting Training Manual

This training manual on female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) approaches the issue from a gender perspective in order to increase participants’ understanding of FGM/C as a harmful practice and a form of violence against women and girls (VAWG). By the end of the training, participants should be able to translate the gender analysis for the abandonment of FGM/C promoted by this training into respectful and culturally sensitive strategies appropriate to the environments in which they work. It was developed by the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) in partnership with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) - United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Joint Programme on Female Genital Mutilation.

The course is intended for programme managers and practitioners from government and civil society organisations, the United Nations, and other international organisations working in the countries where FGM/C is predominantly practised, including countries where immigrant communities continue to perform the practice. It can be used by professionals who are already working to address FGM/C or who see opportunities to address FGM/C within their gender equality or elimination of VAWG programmes.

Intended for use by field facilitators working with a group of 15 to 25 participants, the manual is designed to allow participants to:

• reflect on the unequal power relations between men and women as the root cause of FGM/C;
• discuss how gender discrimination creates social expectations about women’s bodies and sexuality;
• look at the socioeconomic, cultural, and institutional factors that maintain the practice of FGM/C;
• analyse the role of girls and women, boys and men as change agents for abandonment of the practice as well as sources of resistance; and
• consider a range of programme approaches that have had varying levels of success.

By the end of the course, participants should be able to:

• write a data analysis about gender and FGM/C for a country-specific project or programme;
• identify the root causes of FGM/C as unequal power relations between men and women which lead to gender inequality, discrimination, and harmful stereotypes and norms;
• explain how societies use FGM/C to control women and girls and why women are also involved in maintaining the status quo;
• define FGM/C as a harmful practice, a form of VAWG, and a violation of their human rights;
• explain the importance of a holistic approach to FGM/C programming;
• identify stakeholder support for, and resistance to, ending FGM/C;
• address myths and harmful beliefs about FGM/C;
• explain a range of considerations for gender transformative FGM/C programming and begin to develop a theory of change.

The course methodology is participatory and learner-centred in order to draw on participants’ personal and professional experience and expertise. Each session has a series of facilitator-led inputs and participant-led tasks and outputs. There is also a handout for each session that recaps the main messages for participants’ easy reference.

The course consists of the following modules:

Module 1 - Defining the context of FGM/C
Module 2 - Gender inequality, FGM/C and VAWG
Module 3 - Change agents and sources of resistance
Module 4 - Gender and FGM/C programming