More than 400 journalists from Mogadishu and surrounding regions have been equipped with skills in reporting on Female Genital Mutilation, a pervasive practice that continues in parts of Somalia.
Conducted over six sessions, the training that is aimed at priming journalists in effective and professional reporting on FGM were facilitated under a partnership between the United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA), and the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ).
NUSOJ Secretary General Omar Faruk Osman said the training was a big step forward in the fight for social justice and was aimed at enabling journalists to play their role against FGM.
“Journalists are society’s watchdog and messengers and they give a voice to their respective communities. These training were deliberately structured to reach journalists across Somalia so as to spread the campaign against FGM,” Osman said.
“FGM is a retrogressive practice that sadly still remains with us even today. Besides maiming women, it also stunting their potential to play a role in the transformation of their society. Journalists should therefore be on the frontlines of raising awareness about it and its negative impacts,” said Nima Hassan Abdi, NUSOJ Organising Secretary who led the organization of the training activities.
The training activities form part of a concerted effort by UNFPA, to fight FGM through partnerships with credible and campaigning Somali civil society partners such as NUSOJ. With the training now complete, the trainees have now equipped the knowledge and skills gained to continuously raise awareness about FGM in their respective communities.
