We are on our way
- Do you have questions about FGM?
- Do you need someone to talk to, to advise, to counsel, or to assist you with decisions?
- Do you need medical assistance?
- Would you like us to offer a seminar or give a speech in your school?
- Should we offer your employees a training course on FGM?
- Should we support you in intervening in a concrete case where risk of FGM is present?
Opposing Ritual Violence against Women and Girls
Women and girls worldwide are at risk of ritual violence in a myriad of forms. Among these human rights violations is injury to their genitalia (excision or infibulation), called by the World Health Organization and the Inter-African Committee female genital mutilation or FGM.
Our non-profit association, founded in 1998 on the advice of Efua Dorkenoo OBE, has advocated worldwide for ending these harmful traditional practices.
Taking a holistic approach, we support numerous projects to empower women where FGM persists. In Germany, we assist immigrants who have endured excision and protect girls at risk.
Our projects
TRANSLATION of Mariame’s speech
„My name is Mariame Sow and I’d like to introduce our health and education project in Podor, Senegal, Maa Feew. Maa Feew is Fulani, a language spoken in Senegal, meaning “Everything’s gonna be all right.”
The project, begun in 2020, is currently running in Podor in the north of Senegal where I was born. Maa Feew has three parts: To provide birthing mothers with appropriate and emergency healthcare; to construct adequate bathrooms at school; and to build a school library.
In Podor we still find FGM along with early and forced marriage. As a result, complications while giving birth abound. To reach emergency assistance in larger cities miles away, women had only wooden wagons to transport them, and many died on route. The Arbeiter Sanitäter Bund – First Aid Ambulance Service in Frankfurt am Main – donated a well-equipped ambulance which has already reduced fatalities. Moreover, at present, school bathrooms are in a deplorable state and must be repaired. Many girls stay home during their periods and thus equal access to education is denied them.
For this project, FORWARD for Women has gained support from medical professionals, especially physicians as well as from the general citizenry.
My name is Caroline von Janowski, a co-founder of the Scottish NGO Bookfeeding Project. We are building a library in Podor’s school to promote access to education with emphasis on aiding girls from families with limited means. The library is being built together with the local community who, on completion, will take full responsibility for running it.
MARIAME: To cover costs of shipping the ambulance and ongoing shipments of medicine and supplies, FORWARD is appealing to your generosity.“
CORONA ASSISTANCE
Distribution of food and protective equipment to nearly 400 needy families in Podor, Senegal.
Maa Feew
Saraba
Preventing violence against women by offering support to male refugees from Africa in asylum residences in Frankfurt