Keur Simbara is a small village in the
Thiès Region
Thiès (; ; Noon: ''Chess'') is the third largest city in Senegal with a population of 391,253 in 2023. It lies east of Dakar on the N2 road and at the junction of railway lines to Dakar, Bamako and St-Louis. It is the capital of Thiès Regio ...
in
Senegal
Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...
.
[The village is on the eastern side of the country 70 km from the capital ]Dakar
Dakar ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The Departments of Senegal, department of Dakar has a population of 1,278,469, and the population of the Dakar metropolitan area was at 4.0 mill ...
UNICEF/Tostan Tostan
The village is known internationally because of the efforts of its village chief
Demba Diawara
Demba Diawara (born c. 1931) is an imam and village leader of Keur Simbara in Senegal. He is known for his leadership in encouraging village communities to abandon the tradition of female genital cutting. He knew of the first declarations at the S ...
. He persuaded a group of villages to co-operate to renounce
Female Genital Cutting
Female genital mutilation (FGM) (also known as female genital cutting, female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and female circumcision) is the cutting or removal of some or all of the vulva for non-medical reasons. FGM prevalence varies ...
. Diawara believed that in order for Keur Simbara to renounce FGM then he would need to persuade the villages wider social network. This was achieved. Keur Simbara, a small village, has received Ministers from other countries.
Description
Keur Simbara is 70 km from
Dakar
Dakar ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The Departments of Senegal, department of Dakar has a population of 1,278,469, and the population of the Dakar metropolitan area was at 4.0 mill ...
the capital of Senegal.
The small Bambara village of Keur Simbara came to international community because of the change that the community has achieved. The village leader
Demba Diawara
Demba Diawara (born c. 1931) is an imam and village leader of Keur Simbara in Senegal. He is known for his leadership in encouraging village communities to abandon the tradition of female genital cutting. He knew of the first declarations at the S ...
led the village to renounce
Female Genital Cutting
Female genital mutilation (FGM) (also known as female genital cutting, female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and female circumcision) is the cutting or removal of some or all of the vulva for non-medical reasons. FGM prevalence varies ...
. The village was aware that another village had publicly committed to abandon female circumcision but they feared that other villagers would refuse to marry their girls they considered the uncut girls to be "unclean".
Diawara spent months persuading other villages to join Keur Simbara and this led to a combined announcement at
Diabougou. Keur Simbara has received Ministers from other countries and its representatives were praised by their own President and
Hillary Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...
.
Women in the village have reported other cultural changes. In the past women were afraid to speak publicly and they would avoid men having meetings. The village reports increased school attendance and birth registration as well as increased vaccination rates.
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References
External links
{{coord missing, Senegal
Populated places in Thiès region