Dr. Alain P. Zoubga, Minister for Social Action and National Solidarity, Government of Burkina Faso - DFID Girl Summit 2014

Spotlight B2 - "Bringing it all Together: Ending FGM Through Strong and Effective National Action"

Context: This presentation is from one of the 14 "Spotlights on Progress" video-recorded sessions from the Girl Summit 2014, London, United Kingdom (UK). The sessions were organised to share best practice between practitioners, grassroots activists, and government ministers across the issues of female genital mutilation (FGM) (also FGM/C - female genital mutilation/cutting) and child, early, and forced marriage (CEFM). The Girl Summit is a project of the Department for International Development (DFID), UK.

Profile of speaker: According to cyclopaedia.net, Dr. Alain P. Zoubga is a Burkinabe politician and medical doctor who has served in the government of Burkina Faso as Minister of Social Action since 2013. This ministry is in charge of the fight against FGM in the country. Previously, he was appointed as Minister of Health by President Blaise Compaoré following the 1987 coup d'état and served until 1989.

Strategy overview: In his presentation "Joint Initiative for Ending FGM/C and Child Marriage: Accelerating Change", which can be viewed in the video below, Dr. Zoubga said that Burkina Faso has made impressive progress to reduce FGM in the country. The country takes a multi-sectorial, multidisciplinary approach to ending FGM and has integrated FGM elimination at all levels of government. This has included the Ministries of Health, Social Welfare, Education, and Justice. Another strategy has been actively engaging a wide range of non-government stakeholders, including communities, media, traditional leaders, and religious leaders. All of this is supported at by proactive political commitment at the highest levels of government, such as through strong political support from Madame Chantal Compaoré, the First Lady of Burkina Faso. These efforts have led to successes such as a law that was passed in 1986 which punished offenders and accomplices. The major challenge was when those who wanted to avoid the law crossed the border to continue practicing FGM. To that end, the government had taken a multi-sectoral approach, bringing in a range of stakeholders. For example, there has also been close collaboration with neighbouring Mali and Niger, lending to cross-border cooperation efforts.

Overview of this Summit session: Speakers from African and European countries came together in this session to discuss what they have done to ensure coordinated and comprehensive national action towards ending FGM in their own countries and seek insight from each other's experiences. They talk about how they have creatively brought together diverse groups to achieve consensus on what needs to happen to end FGM, highlighting critical steps towards success as well as challenges. Following an opening by Cathy Russell, Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues, United States, the speakers, in order of appearance, are:

• Hon. Dr Linah Jebii Kilimo, Chair of the Anti-FGM Board, Kenya
• Dr. Alain P. Zoubga, Minister for Social Action and National Solidarity, Government of Burkina Faso
• Norman Baker, MP Minister of State for Crime Prevention, Government of the United Kingdom
• Zsanett Shashaty, Anti-Slavery Officer for the Welsh Government
• Vitor Almeida, Senior Advisor in the Portuguese Commission for Citizenship and Gender Equality, Government of Portugal
• Dr. Morissanda Kouyate, Executive Director, Inter-African Committee on Traditional Practices

The session was moderated by Susan Bookbinder, who is a journalist, broadcaster, columnist and media consultant with a particular focus on FGM.

Footage of this (available below) presentation and others are available on DFID’s YouTube channel.

The Girl Summit is a project of DFID. Click here and scroll down to see the full list of individuals and organisations committed to working on girls' issues, as well as a list of Girl Summit Charter signatories.