Mrs. Goundo is fighting to remain in the United States. But it’s not just because of the ethnic conflict and drought that has plagued her native Mali. Threatened with deportation, her two-year-old daughter Djenabou could be forced to undergo female genital cutting, a controversial rite of passage that dates back thousands of years and has been outlawed in 16 countries.
Using rarely cited grounds for political asylum, Goundo must convince an immigration judge that in Mali—where more than 85 percent of women and girls experience genital cutting—she will be unable to protect her daughter from well-intentioned relatives who believe all girls must have their external genitalia surgically removed.
The San Francisco Bay Area Chapter of the US National Committee for UNIFEM (UNIFEM/USNC) was launched in June of 2009. UNIFEM is the United Nations Development Fund for Women, and it works on women’s rights and development issues across the globe. We are committed to expanding support and raising funds within the United States for UNIFEM. Through our efforts we hope to encourage ourselves and others to become involved in advancing women’s rights around the world. If interested in learning more, please send us an email at sanfranbayarea@unifem-usnc.org.
About the Film Series: This monthly film series will look at women’s rights and development issues. Each month, a film that touches on one of the four themes of UNIFEM (The United Nations Development Fund for Women) will be selected. These four themes are: – enhancing women’s economic security and rights, – ending violence against women, – reducing the prevalence of HIV and AIDS among women and girls, and – advancing gender justice in democratic governance in stable and fragile states. After each film, a discussion will be held that focuses on the issue being highlighted and what local Bay Area organizations are doing to address that issue.
