Title: Addressing Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) through Promoting Literacy for Girls and Women in Rural Puntland-Somalia

Millions of girls below the age of 15 undergo FGM in Somalia, despite efforts to curtail the harmful practice. Past efforts to reduce FGM have been led by health professionals from outside the communities in rural Puntland. This project, however, proposes local leadership and focuses on educating community members about this harmful practice. The pilot program aims to introduce an anti-FGM curriculum into the local schools with the goal of nationwide adoption later. Education targets girls, women, and FGM practitioners in the community to help them better understand the harmful impact of FGM. Practitioners of FGM will be redirected towards positive practices that empower girls and women in Somalia. Importantly, this project recognizes that women, as both practitioners and victims of FGM, are the keys to changing this societal practice. Hand-in-hand with the curriculum, the project leaders will create a network of community champions who will actively work to end FGM in their communities. The network will lobby the government to adopt the anti-FGM curriculum nationwide, to change FGM policies and laws, and to protect the rights of women and girls who are at risk for FGM.