In Tanzania about 5,000 girls aged between 10 and 16 were rounded up for mutilation in one region alone in two weeks and government admits they have failed in the fight against FGM! The truth is in East Africa FGM is still on the rise and it is performed in secret and at night! by Lucy Mashua

A group of school girls begging the Tanzania government to intervene against FGM, About 5,000 girls aged between 10 and 16 were rounded up for mutilation in Mara region alone from mid-last month, according to statistics provided by regional authorities, but a campaign spearheaded by the government failed to net the culprits. Female genital mutilation,is a crime in this country. Ms Ummy Mwalimu, the deputy minister for Community Development, Gender and Children, says the government’s efforts did not bear fruit because of the complex nature of the rite, which is deeply rooted in culture and traditional beliefs. Cracking down on the perpetrators was made even more difficult by a conspiracy between heads of clans and village leaders, who are paid for looking the other way as the traditionalists round up girls for the mutilation. In an interview with The Citizen this week, Ms Mwalimu said the only weapon at the disposal of the government was public education. She added: “We cannot end this problem only by the force of the law. Our greatest hope is to create awareness. We have been trying to engage traditional leaders who are said to encourage the practice.” The crackdown on female genital mutilation in Mara region during the season that started on December 15 last year did not materialise despite the "public pronouncements and promises of government officials", ( PEOPLE I KEEP TELLING YOU DO NOT BUY PROPAGANDA OF ORGANISATIONS CLAIMING VILLAGES DENOUNCING FGM IN AFRICA !!! FGM CONTINUES AND THE NGOs CONTINUE GETTING RECOGNIZED FOR NOTHING!!).Only two arrest were made if only in one village this genital genocide happened in two weeks how about the whole country? The government have resulted in asking the girls to escape on their own and when they do they will receive rewards when they do so. In the meantime, the number of camps that house those who escape will be boosted. Girls who escape could also be cited for “Hero-Girls Awards”, according to Ms Mwalimu. Mara region currently has only one refuge--Masanga camp--which houses 314 girls who fled to safety last month. The rescue campaign will also include setting up gender desks in police stations in four wards in Tarime district, chiefly to provide information and support victims and would-be targets. The desks are to be set up away from district police offices and closer to the people. FGM is now performed at night and in secret and more dangerous now as mutilators can't see well as they butcher causing more death and snitches are killed too!! I say Tanzania government arrest all mutilators charge them with 1st degree murders and with intent to kill enough with smooth talks and fake public denouncements and to African governments kick out all foreign Organisations who are lying about public denouncement and fake promises by mutilators are working!! because they get to get recognized for 0 work and funded while our women and girls suffer and die because FGM still continue and more riskier than ever!! And Western countries stop buying the propagandas that public denouncement / promise by my people works ooh my people can dance for free meals and handouts anytime and your !!! I am so pissed and pissed because just in december hundred of thousands were mutilated in Africa and this was not reported !! Ambassador Lucy Mashua . Ambassador Lucy S. Mashua, President of Mashua Voice for the Voiceless, International Assisting and advocating for U.S. refugees and women’s rights Global Ambassador for Ending Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) Leading in lobbying for HR 2221: The Girl's Protection Act sponsored by Rep. Joseph Crowley and Rep. Mary Bono Mack. http://twitter.com/Mashua http://mashuavoiceforthevoiceless.blogspot.com/ http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mashua-Against-FGM/225406701415

GIRLS HAVE STARTED RUNNING AWAY FROM HOME, THIS FGM SEASON IN EAST AFRICA:(,WHILE WE CELEBRATE HOLIDAYS HERE HELPLESS GIRLS ARE RUNNING SCARED:( FORWARD UK IS HELPING CDF WITH TECHNICAL SUPPORT IN TANZANIA..AMB LUCY MASHUA

In Tanzania girls are fleeing home away from the knife, Mara — SOME girls have started fleeing their homes fearing that they might be forced to undergo female genital mutilation (FGM) this season, in the Northern Tarime District of Mara Region. Children Dignity Forum (CDF), a local NGO that has been on the forefront of anti-FGM awareness campaigns in Tarime in recent years, confirmed the reports yesterday. "Last week, there were three girls who fled from Masurura and Kitaguti villages about 60 km to Tarime town and they spent two days on the way," the CDF Mobilizing Actions to Safeguard Girls Rights Coordinator, Mr Joram Wimmo, said.

"We are making arrangements to send the girls to Masanga where there is a rescue centre," the official added. There is fear that about hundreds of girls mostly school children are line-up for mutilation in the entire Tarime District of Mara Region. FGM is illegal, according to the law. The organization strives to cut the number of girls lined-up for mutilation this season (November and December) in the area. Mr Wimmo also said the NGO is getting support from the police gender desk at the Tarime Special Regional Police Zone. A few weeks ago the NGO conducted an anti-FGM public dialogue that brought together key stakeholders such as girls, mutilators, parents, local, religious and traditional leaders. They are also going through Tarime rural villages conducting meetings to deliver anti-FGM messages in the area, according to Mr Wimmo. Under the project, CDF is also creating awareness campaigns against child marriages and early pregnancies in various parts of Mara Region. The NGO is getting technical support from Forward (UK) and sponsored by COMIC Relief also from the UK. Thank you to this two forward UK and COMIC relief organisations supporting CDF.

Ambassador Lucy S. Mashua, President of Mashua Voice for the Voiceless, International Assisting and advocating for U.S. refugees and women’s rights Global Ambassador for Ending Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) Leading in lobbying for HR 2221: The Girl's Protection Act sponsored by Rep. Joseph Crowley and Rep. Mary Bono Mack. http://twitter.com/Mashua http://mashuavoiceforthevoiceless.blogspot.com/ http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mashua-Against-FGM/225406701415

FGM IS A GENDER DISCRIMINATION BY CULTURE AND RELIGION.

Njoro Division Officer (DISTRICT OFFICER), Peter Kariuki, has warned that any parent who will be found carrying out Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) during the coming December holiday will be arrested and taken to the court. Speaking during an academic day at Kongongeri Primary School, Kariuki said that those parents who still practise FGM are going against the new Constitution, adding that traditional mutilation method on women has been buried. "Mutilation among our girls is a kind of discrimination, and has both physically and mentally problems and therefore it should not be practised,” he noted. He told the area chiefs to be more serious on this issue to ensure that the girls are no longer subjected to discrimination by the culture or religion!.

Ambassador Lucy S. Mashua, President of Mashua Voice for the Voiceless, International Assisting and advocating for U.S. refugees and women’s rights Global Ambassador for Ending Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) Chairperson of the Worldwide Campaign Against FGM Leading in lobbying for HR 2221: The Girl's Protection Act sponsored by Rep. Joseph Crowley and Rep. Mary Bono Mack. http://twitter.com/Mashua http://mashuavoiceforthevoiceless.blogspot.com/ http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mashua-Against-FGM/225406701415

Police in Kenya rescue five girls FGM Survivors from bleeding to death after they were mutilated,They also arrested the parents and the mutilators! by Ambassador Lucy Mashua

Five teenage girls are admitted at Kyuso District Hospital in Kitui after they were forcefully multilated by their parents. The five, aged between 13 and 18 years, were rescued by Administration Police after they received information about the incident. Mumoni AP commander who ordered the operation to rescue the girls and arrest the perpetrators said two of the girls were found in their homes while three were found hidden in a bush where they had been taken for the mutilation. He said four women were arrested among them a traditional mutilator and the parents of the girls. “When we got the report from the area chief, I immediately dispatched officers who arrested the four women and rescued the girls. Unfortunately the girls had already been mutilated and we rushed them to hospital because they had lost a lot of blood and were walking with difficulty,” said Mohamed. The women are held at Kyuso police station. Female genital mutilation is illegal in the country. Mohamed said the practice is still rampant in the area inhabited by the Tharaka community but warned that stern action will be taken against parents found subjecting their children to the FGM. “We are sending a very strong warning to the community in that area that FGM is outlawed and it will not be tolerated at all. Those who still practice it will face severe punishment as per the law. They should know that such act amounts to abuse of children rights,” he said. It is believed that parents in the area take advantage of the holiday season to subject female children to FGM, majority of whom are married off after the brutal practice.

Ambassador Lucy Mashua Assisting and advocating for U.S. refugees and women’s rightsGlobal Ambassador for Ending Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)Leading the Worldwide Campaign Against FGMLobbying for HR 2221:The Girl's Protection Act sponsored by Rep. Joseph Crowley and Rep. Mary Bono Mack. and S 1919 introduced by Senator Harry Reid,http://twitter.com/Mashuahttp://mashuavoiceforthevoiceless.blogspot.com/http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mashua-Against-FGM/225406701415

FGM RACIST CAKE.ALL SURVIVORS OF FGM WANT IS A TRUE APOLGY ,THAT IS ALL WE ASK.SIGN OUR PETITION AT CHANGE.ORG IN SOLIDARITY.

Dear Minister for Swedish Culture, This letter is written on behalf of everyone who has either died, survived or is advocating an end to the harmful cultural practice of female genital mutilation. Before writing this letter, a honest attempt has been made to unravel the exact events of what actually happened and why at the Moderna Museet concerning the Swedish Artists organisation cultural event that took place within this last week. In the research undertaken for the writing of this letter, it is of the understanding that you are a supposed supporter of anti-FGM campaigns and that Sweden takes a serious stance against this extreme gender –based violence. This subject based on long cultural traditions but is widely recognised as being very harmful and causing deaths to many girls and women. In fact, to date, it is not completely known how many women and girls have actually died, given that deaths are under reported and in rural Africa true figures are not known. What we do know is that injury and complications are serious and a life-time of health complications results. Facts that you should be well aware of given your interest in the subject. So, it is with astonishment that you took part in this dreadful and de-based spectacle. In your defence, journalists have argued that you walked into something in which you were unaware the full ramifications of. That once in the room, you had to go along with it. This is no defence. You must have known how much insult you would cause and what a media disaster this would be for you and the party you represent. You should have known exactly what you were attending and what you would be expected to do. There is no reason that can be seen as to how this was ever going to ever help the anti-FGM cause and make a point of its abhorrence. It was a theatrical spectacle where the whole issue was made into a joke, something to be laughed at. This may very well had been the last thing you wanted but this is the result. And the result is mortifying to those directly affected. Therefore, this letter is asking for a full public apology not only from yourself but from the artist Makode Linde for the extremely misguided actions and the subsequent hurt and potential humiliation you have caused to its victims. We do hope you have the comparison, the moral fibre and the dignity to reply, Yours sincerely, Ambassador Lucy Mashua Assisting and advocating for U.S. refugees and women’s rightsGlobal Ambassador for Ending Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)Leading the Worldwide Campaign Against FGMLobbying for HR 2221:The Girl's Protection Act sponsored by Rep. Joseph Crowley and Rep. Mary Bono Mack. and S 1919 introduced by Senator Harry Reid,http://twitter.com/Mashuahttp://mashuavoiceforthevoiceless.blogspot.com/http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mashua-Against-FGM/225406701415 AND Helen Marshall, Norfolk UK. Activist against FGM and supporter of the African NGO Tareto Maa, Kilgoris, Kenya, refuge for girls fleeing FGM and early enforced marriage.