Reverend Dr Medad Birungi Zinomuhangi, World Shine Ministries - DFID Girl Summit 2014

"As we look forward, the project demonstrates a simple, low cost model which can be replicated in other districts, locations, and countries to increase awareness of FGM..." - Reverend Dr Medad Birungi Zinomuhangi

Panel Discussion: Spotlight on Progress A3 - Faith Forward: the Role of Faith Communities and Leaders in Addressing FGM and CEFM

Context
This is one of the 14 "Spotlights on Progress" video-recorded sessions that took place at the Girl Summit 2014 in London on 22nd July. The sessions were organised to spark conversations and share best practice between practitioners from around the world, between grassroots activists and ministers, and across all the issues of female genital mutilation (FGM) and child, early, and forced marriage (CEFM). Girl Summit is a project of the Department for International Development (DFID), UK.

A featured panelist of this Spotlight session was Reverend Dr Medad Birungi Zinomuhangi, President and Founder, World Shine Ministries who gave a talk on
"Empowering Local Communities to end FGM in Uganda".

Profile of Speaker
Reverend Dr Medad Birungi Zinomuhangi is the President and Founder of World Shine Ministries. He also founded the Public Integrity Research Consultancy Organization. He is a senior lecturer in Development Ethics at Kyambogo University. He also holds a PhD in Leadership Ethics and Integrity, Master of Theology and degree in Education.

Project strategy and key points made in the presentation:
In his talk, Reverend Dr Medad Birungi Zinomuhangi shares experiences from a collaborative project between World Shine Ministries and 28 Too Many that involved the training of teachers to tackle FGM in Uganda.

World Shine Ministries is a Christian organisation based in Eastern Uganda that believes in transforming lives through education. Besides running a school, their programmes also help to prevent sexual and gender-based violence, enhance child protection, and empower girls. They work to unite local government, police, education, health care, and civil society leaders to improve the status of girls and women, and tackle FGM.

28 Too Many is an organisation that focuses on research and enabling local initiatives to end FGM in the 28 African countries where it is practised and across the diaspora. Their work involves networking and advocating for the global eradication of FGM, and working closely with other charities and organisations in the violence against women sector.

The collaborative project incorporated FGM into teacher training at the World Shine School in Uganda. With the help of volunteers from the Tonbridge Baptist Church, workshops were held with teachers which: looked at data on FGM in Uganda provided by 28 Too Many; created an understanding of the communities that practice FGM; raised awareness of the physical and emotional effects of FGM on girls and women; and trained teachers on how to recognize girls who have had FGM in order to prevent further complications arising. Teachers were also encouraged to identify how they could get involved in educating their communities about FGM, and were provided with training and resources to reach out to parents and community leaders.

The speaker goes on to talk about the impact of the project. Many teachers had no knowledge about FGM, but after the training they were full of ideas and determined to create a plan of action which included meeting with local faith-leaders to spread the word across the district. One month after the training workshop, a workshop was organised for 400 men and women from the community. Teacher workshop trainers also commented on the increased passion of the teachers to protect children, and teachers themselves reported that they were keen to become agents of change.

Reverend Dr Medad Birungi Zinomuhangi then outlined some of the learnings from the project. He made the point that working with and training teachers is an effective way to reach different stakeholders and groups: girls at risk, parents, and community and faith leaders - effectively using a child as an entry point into the community. Framing messages about FGM in a faith context as well as a human rights and health issue was helpful in engaging the community. In addition, providing clear information on FGM, relevant to a particular country and community is essential to get people to understand the issue and commit to taking action.

He concludes by saying that the project demonstrates a simple, low cost model which can be replicated in other districts, regions, and countries. The principles can be applied to all faiths, and training can be further developed to include early and forced marriage, and generally support girls to complete their education.

Overview of the "Faith Forward: the Role of Faith Communities and Leaders in Addressing FGM and CEFM" Summit Session:
"This Spotlight discusses initiatives with faith and community leaders who support efforts to end FGM and child, early and forced marriage. Lessons are shared from inter-faith dialogue and from coalition building with wider non-faith groups to outline areas for future action including joint statements, campaigns and by connecting local and international faith communities. The discussion covers:

• building coalitions with faith and community leaders at the grass roots;
• working with faith and community leaders in challenging contexts;
• using traditional networks and new media to engage audiences;
• engaging a global community of faith leaders."

The speakers, in order of appearance, are:
Rebecca Mahlunge Programme Manager, Hivos
Shahin Ashraf Muslim Chaplain and National Network Coordinator for the Muslim Women’s Network UK
Reverend Dr Medad Birungi Zinomuhangi President and Founder, World Shine Ministries
Professor Gamal Serour Professor and Director of the International Islamic Center for Population Studies and Research at Al-Azhar University
Dr Ann-Marie Wilson Executive Director, 28 Too Many

The session was chaired by human rights journalist Saroja Coelho, formerly Environment Editor and Radio Presenter at Deutsche Welle.

Footage of this (available below) and other "Spotlight Sessions" are available on DFID’s YouTube channel.