Category: 1201

Today is #GivingTuesday.  What is #GivingTuesday?  Thousands of shoppers take to the stores the day after Thanksgiving in the U.S. to get the best deals of the holiday season.  The day is called, Black Friday.  Then there is the Monday after Thanksgiving, which is referred to as Cyber Monday.  #GivingTuesday is special, especially to nonprofit organizations.  #GivingTuesday is the day when charities, families, businesses, community centers, and students around the world come together for one common purpose.  They celebrate giving and generosity.

What is the origin of #GivingTuesday?  A cultural center in New York City called 92^nd Y in 1874 started bringing people together around the values of service and giving back.  Four years ago, the same cultural center created #GivingTuesday.  The day is intended to connect diverse groups of individuals, communities and organizations in the spirit of giving.  #GivingTuesday is a global movement, which unites countries around the world by sharing their capacity to care for and empower one another.

In the spirit of giving on this #GivingTuesday, Global Woman P.E.A.C.E. Foundation asks that you join us in that spirit by supporting us.  When you shop today on Amazon, please choose Global Woman P.E.A.C.E. as your charity choice.

All donations received on #GivingTuesday will support our special “Funds for Surgery”.  If you have any questions about our Funds for Surgery, please contact us at info@globalwomanpeacefoundation.org.

The Gambian President, Yahya Jammeh last week announced that he was officially banning the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) in his West African country.  The President was at a rally when he made the astounding announcement.  The Gambia has been one of the practicing countries in West Africa with a high FGM rate.  Seventy-Six Percent of women in the Gambia have undergone FGM, and 56% of girls by the age of 14 have already undergone female genital mutilation.

In the Gambia, FGM is performed by cutting the genitals and then stitching closed the remaining skin so that the women do not have or enjoy sexual intercourse.  In the aftermath, it can lead to tetanus, gangrene, HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C.

Jaha Dukureh, FGM Activist & Advocate

According to the Guardian, Activist and Advocate Jaha Dukurah told them, “I’m amazed that the President did this.  I didn’t expect this in a million years.  I’m just really proud of my country and I’m really, really happy.”  Jaha, a Gambian native has been relentless in her plight to help end the practice of FGM, not only in her country but in other parts of the world.  In the summer of 2014 Jaha led a campaign on the internet to get the attention of the U.S. Congress about FGM.  She successfully amassed 220,000 signatures through the internet, and took her boxes of signatures to Capitol Hill.  The signatures prompted a bi-partisan plea in a letter to President Obama, requesting a law against “vacation cutting”.  Vacation Cutting is when a girl is taken out of a western country to the parents’ country of origin for the purpose of performing FGM on her.

President Jammeh is up for reelection, and he took a risk of possibly losing the election due to this drastic decision.  The Gambian President echoed what several Muslim leaders have stated; that FGM is not required by Islam.  In the past, many Muslims have hidden behind religion with the excuse that FGM is a religious practice.  However there is no passage in the Qur’an that says the practice of FGM should be done.

According to reports, President Jammeh said that the law to ban FGM is effective immediately.  However it is unclear how long it will be until the law is passed for the ban to be enforced.  It is hopeful that other African countries will follow what the Gambians have done.  Congratulations to the Gambia!    

Global Woman P.E.A.C.E. Foundation launched a special campaign petition on Change.org in August of this year to the U.S. Department of Education.  The organization which advocates on behalf of women and girls against female genital mutilation has set a goal to collect at least 200,000 signatures; this is in its plight to get the U.S. Department of Education to include at least one lesson in its curriculum on female genital mutilation (FGM) in the elementary and middle schools.

The organization believes that educating the children from an early age, most especially the popular age range of seven through thirteen about the practice of FGM is crucial.  The sooner the children are aware of the practice, the more likely thousands of girls in the U.S. can be spared from undergoing female genital mutilation.  We need your signature to meet our goal.

To sign the petition, please click the link below and watch the video:

Join the Campaign and Sign Our Petition

By signing this petition, you are making your voice heard.  You are joining the thousands of concerned citizens, not only of the United States but of the world to say that the practice of female genital mutilation must be stopped.  You are saying that there is no longer a place in the world for atrocities and violence against woman.  It is a tradition that is older than five centuries but it is tradition that can hinder a girl’s ability to bear children, and produces a lifetime of both physical and psychological pain.

If you have questions or comments about the campaign prior to signing the petition, please contact us at info@globalwomanpeacefoundation.org.

In Virginia, we are located at 901 South Highland Street, Suite 319, Arlington, Virginia 22204 and in Washington we are at 3920 Alton Place, NW, Washington, D.C. 20016.  The hours of operation at the Arlington location are Monday, Wednesday and Thursday 10:00am until 3:00pm for appointments and at the Washington, D.C. location, only Wednesday and Saturday 10:00am until 12:30pm.  All appointments and information are held confidential.