WADI - Halabja and Garmyan declared free of FGM after WADI's 15 years of campaigning

With the work of our Member Wadi, in 2022 Halabja and Garmyan were declared free of FGM after fifteen years of intense campaigning!

Wadi lobbied since 2004 on a local and international level to put the spotlight on FGM in Northern Iraq with its with its ‘STOP FGM Kurdistan’ campaign. This was not easy, the idea that FGM existed in the Middle East was not readily accepted at a local and international level, infact Wadi’s petitioned the UN for several years to add Northern Iraq to its list of countries. Wadi also lobbied since 2006 for a legal ban of FGM, and in 2011 its was passed by the parliament of the Kurdish Autonomous Region. As they share the success of the campaign with everyone, they also look forward to their vision for the future is one where FGM is banned in all of Iraq and much more is done to end the practice in the rest of the Middle East and Asia.

In 2022 Halabja and Garmyan were declared free of FGM after fifteen years of intense campaigning, no new case has been reported in the past year! Halabja had an initial rate of 77.9% and Garmyan 81.2% so these were two serious hotspots and these successes are a landmark moment in a movement that has been working with women and men to change the cultural dialogue around the practice of FGM and to encourage entire communities to give up the practice.

For more in depth look into their work please watch this video.

For the latest brochure about FGM in Kurdistan and Wadi’s work click here.