51³Ô¹Ï Academic Impact and the Millennium Campus Network (MCN) are proud to partner on the Millennium Fellowship, a semester-long leadership development program that helps students design and implement community-level initiatives to promote sustainability and help others in need.
Over 7,000 young leaders on 1,209 campuses across 135 nations applied to join the Millennium Fellowship Class of 2019; 69 campuses worldwide were selected to host the 1,092 . The Class of 2019 is bold, innovative, and inclusive, and their work is projected to positively impact the lives of nearly 1 million people worldwide this year.
Claudette Igiraneza, a Millennium Fellow for the Class of 2019, is committed to eradicating all forms Female Genital Mutilation (FGM/C) in Somaliland. Her Millennium Fellowship Project focuses on SDG 5: Gender Equality.
Read on to find out how the experiences of two classmates led Claudette on a journey to empower women to change a centuries old practice. ?
In August 2017, I met two remarkable Somali ladies, Kawsar and Ubah, at the American University of Beirut where we are all students and participants in the MasterCard Foundation Scholars Program.
They shared with me a painful childhood story: at the age of 7, parts of their bodies were gone forever due to female genital mutilation (FGM). In Somaliland, where Kawsar and Ubah come from, FGM is considered a cultural tradition and is widely practiced. For many communities, FGM represents a rite of passage for girls from childhood to adulthood. According to , 98% of women in Somaliland have undergone female genital mutilation. As a Rwandan, I grew up in a country where women¡¯s rights are respected, and women are at the forefront of our nation¡¯s development. I was appalled that there are still places where women do not have the basic human right to decide what happens to their bodies.
Hearing Kawsar and Ubah¡¯s stories challenged me to think about what I could do as an African woman to amplify the voices of other women who are victimized and marginalized by their own culture. In 2018, myself, Kawsar and Ubah founded an organization called ¡°Solace for Somaliland Girls (SSG)¡± with the goal to eradicate all forms of female genital mutilation across communities in Somaliland through education and empowerment. Our advocacy entails trainings delivered to women and men on the repercussions of FGM on women¡¯s reproductive, physical and mental health. We also aim to establish anti-FGM clubs in high schools in Somaliland as we believe by raising a generation of young people who are fully aware of the impact of FGM on women¡¯s health, we can shield the next generation of Somali girls from going through this.
In August 2019 we launched our first anti-FGM club with 30 members. Despite the fact that 98% of Somali women have undergone FGM, it is still taboo to talk about it in Somali communities. Thus, we have leveraged social media to raise awareness about FGM through campaigns that have reached around 1,000 people. Through social media, we have created a platform that provides Somali youth the space to openly engage in conversations about FGM, and these discussions have been transformational. We aim to officially launch our trainings and initiate more anti-FGM clubs in July 2020. FGM is a very sensitive topic and many people view it as a centuries old tradition that is under attack. Despite the resistance we have faced, we have engaged with local leaders and influential figures who believe in our cause and are willing to help mobilize the rest of the community.
My experience during the Millennium Fellowship has been transformational and empowering. The program invigorated my passion to ensure that women are not left behind in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. One piece of advice I would give to aspiring Millennium Fellows is to follow their passion and never underestimate their potential to bring equity, equality, justice, and wellbeing to the world.
To learn more about Claudette and support her work, visit her or follow her on and .
AUB Solace for Somaliland Girls Foundation: Students to end female genital mutilation in Somaliland
Solace for Somaliland Girls Foundation, is a social venture committed to eradicating all forms of female genital mutilation (FGM) in communities across Somaliland by increasing awareness about the dangers of the practice through education and empowerment.