The All-Party Parliamentarian Group on SRHR in Norway (APPG-Norway) and Sex og Politikk – IPPF Norway, would like to invite parliamentarians, the ministry of foreign affairs and civil society to a seminar on lessons learned from the global efforts to end FGM/C.  

It is estimated that some 230 million girls and women globally have undergone some form of female genital mutilation/cutting. Although the practice is declining in the majority of countries where it is prevalent, young girls continues to be at risk and a large number of women and girls that have been subjected to the practice are in need of sexual and reproductive health services and support.  

The seminar will both address the root causes for practicing FGM/C, as well as share evidence from research and programme interventions. What enables the practice, how is change facilitated and how do legal regulations intervene to end FGM/C? What role does the global community of donors, organisations and researchers play? These are some of the questions that will be discussed. 

We have invited guests from Somaliland Family Health Association (SOFHA), Ahfad University for Women in Sudan, Save the Children Norway, Norwegian politicians as well as Norwegian researchers to discuss and share of their experience and evidence. 

Program 

10:30 Welcome by Silje Hjemdal, Progressive Party and board member of APPG-Norway  

10:40 Global lessons learned to end FGM/C including lessons from Norwegian efforts
Opening address by deputy minister Bjørg Sandkjær, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

10:55 FGM a Global Problem: Social, Economic and Cultural Drivers
Keynote by Nafisa Bedri, Ahfad University for Women, Sudan. Digital attendance 

11:10 Experiences from Somaliland – working towards the eradication of FGM/C
Keynote by Ougbad Omar, Somaliland Family Health Association (SOFHA)  

11:25 Panel discussion: Global lessons learned – paving the way forward to end FGM/C

• Ougbad Omar, SOFHA 
• R. Elise Johansen, reseacher NKVTS
• Hanne Lotte Moen, Save the Children Norway 
• Joar Svanemyr, Fokus

• Q&A/comments from the audience 

12:20 Closing remarks by Åse Kristin Ask Bakke, Labour party and chair of  APPG-Norway and Sex og Politikk – IPPF Norway

Read more on success stories collected by The IPPF Arab World Regional Office (IPPF AWRO), with financial support of Norad: https://awr.ippf.org/resource/fgm-success-stories-ippf-mas 

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Bjørg Sandkjær, State Secretary to the Minister of International Development, has a broad background in international development, particularly in the fields of global health, human rights and aid effectiveness. Prior to her current position, Ms Sandkjær served as the deputy leader of the Standing Committee on Health and Welfare of the Oslo City Council. Ms Sandkjær has 20 years of experience working in the areas of global health and human rights, and has held positions at the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad), Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the UN Economic Commission for Africa, and the Church of Norway. 

Nafisa Bedri is an experienced professor, researcher and regional trainer in the field of gender, public, women and reproductive health, management, and policy analysis skills. She has written and developed several publications and training materials in these fields. Special research interest in gender-based violence, female genital mutilation/cutting and child marriage. She has managed and carried out several research, academic and community-based projects at national and regional levels in the area of gender, public, women and child‘s health for different bodies, including the WHO, UNFPA, UNICEF, UNAIDS. She has worked with institutions in the regional such as Yemen and Egypt and internationally such as Manchester, Reading (UK), Ohio (USA), Bergen (Norway) and Maastricht (Netherlands) Universities. 

Ougbad (Mimi) Omar, SOPHA, is a Somali-Canadian media and communications professional with a background in documenting and advocating for social change. Based in Somaliland for the past five years, she works with SOFHA, supporting digital storytelling and capacity building to amplify the organization’s work in Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) including, female genital mutilation (FGM). She also serves as a liaison for the diaspora office at the Somaliland Ministry of Foreign Affairs, engaging with returning Somalilanders. 

R. Elise B. Johansen has a PhD in medical anthropology from the University of Oslo, Norway. She is currently research professor at the Norwegian Centre for Violence and Traumatic Stress Studies in Oslo, where she is responsible for the national competency function on female genital mutilation in Norway. She has more than thirty years of research and work experience in the field of sexual and reproductive health and rights, with a focus on female genital mutilation. She was formerly the technical advisor on FGM at the headquarter of the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland. 

Hanne Lotte Moen works as a Special adviser for gender equality and SRHR in Save the Children Norway. She is SCN’s thematic programme quality lead for gender equality/girls’ rights and SRHR. She is currently working on the right to safe abortion and technical support to programmes aiming at reducing female genital mutilation. This includes experiences working with the joint SCN and Norwegian Church Aid programme on FGM and early child forced marriage.  She has prior experience from UNFPA, Norad, FOKUS and as a gender and development consultant.

Joar Svanemyr, PhD, is senior program adviser for FOKUS on SRHR, gender-based violence and harmful practices. He has more than 20 years of experience as adviser, consultant, and researcher, and has previously worked for Norad, the World Health Organization and the Universities of Oslo and Bergen.