To commemorate this year’s International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation, AkiDwA will hold a conference on Monday the 7th of February 2022.

The Covid-19 pandemic has forced communities around the world to stay at home. During this period, an increase of incidences of sexual and gender-based violence has been witnessed by service providers and frontline services, with many women seeking support. The hidden nature of FGM puts girls at greater risk and school closure, at the height of the pandemic, was used to subject girls to the cut.

This year’s conference objective will be to focus on how awareness creation to ensure girls and women are protected from FGM during this times of covid can be tailor made to capture the particular concerns of many.

This conference will look at and discuss what can be done to protect girls from FGM with a strong focus on mental the mental health of affected women and communities.