For a life without violence and without discrimination against women and girls in the Diéma Cercle in Mali
Through the strong involvement of a wide range of actors, such as local, religious, traditional and health authorities, as well as civil society organisations and health departments, the project is anchored in a local network and ensures the sustainability of the actions implemented under the project. The goal? To contribute to the eradication of harmful traditional practices, particularly female genital mutilation and early forced marriages, in 7 communes of the Diéma Cercle in the Kayes region of Mali.
7 Committees for the Defence of Women’s Rights (CDDM), in each of the 7 municipalities of intervention, have been created. The committees carry out advocacy and mediation actions between the population and the local authorities in order to resolve conflicts related to forced marriages, the education of girls, the minimum age for marriage, civil documentation of marriages, etc. Broad awareness among the population of the Diéma Cercle was achieved through awareness-raising campaigns carried out among 17,604 people and public institutions (mayors, school directors, health personnel) and traditional actors (imams, “village chief”, marriage counsellors, community workers). Support was provided to enable local and community leaders to take charge of awareness-raising activities in their communities.
The project directly supports the implementation of the Malian State’s National Programme to Combat the Practice of Excision (PNLE) by promoting it to public institutions in the intervention area. The project also contributed to the signing of two declarations in favour of the abandonment of the practice of excision and the signing of three declarations against early marriage in communes of the Diéma Cercle.
