BANJULL, Gambia - After four months of hard work, Sally Njie and Praise Gimba are proud to release their new song. 'Cut No More' offers a catchy melody, but also shares an important message: warning about the risks of female genital mutilation (FGM). And the most impressive thing? She does it in three different languages: Wolof, Mandinka and English. "This will make the message understood by different people in the community," says Jama Jack, project mentor at partner organization Think Young Women. Ms Njie and Ms Gimba are part of the Tuwezeshe Spotlight Fellows Programme, a year-long program supported by the Spotlight Initiative and implemented by the UNFPA - UNICEF Joint Program to End Female Genital Mutilation. and FORWARD UK . Fifty young women from Africa and 16 from Europe participated in the training, which aims to eliminate female genital mutilation, child marriage and related forms of violence against women and girls, by inspiring and building leadership skills and activism among young women in Africa and the diaspora.
However, creating a song in different languages proved to be a challenge. "One obstacle we had when creating the song was language and choosing the right words to reach all tribes. Once our first recording was made and evaluated, we had to go back to the studio and re-record the song due to terminological problems with the song. word 'Wolof' which refers to 'circumcision'," explains Sally Njie. "The people supervising us helped us, evaluated everything and even shared it with the rest of the team to help make the necessary adjustments." Both the CZ Leads program and the song are collaborative and global in nature. "We partner with three organizations: Akili Dada wa Africa , based in Nairobi; End FGM European Network , based in Brussels; and Think Young Women , based in Banjull, Gambia," said FORWARD Executive Director Naana Otoo. Oyortey. "The initiative focused on intensive feminist leadership training, virtual and in-person, as well as a sub-grant and mentoring support to carry out social action projects, and access to wellness support and the creation of sisterhoods ". Ms Njie and Ms Gimba also contacted social media influencers on different platforms such as TikTok, YouTube, Instagram and Twitter. "Most of the youth are active on social media platforms these days.
So it will be very difficult for them not to come across our song on any of those platforms, especially when we have some influencers coming on board for distribution," he said. Ms. Njie. Three female artists agreed to join the project and partici pated in the entire song writing process. "As a team, we are delighted. The song we have worked on is really beautiful, very catchy and melodic," said Ms Gimba. Earlier this year, the United Nations Resident Coordinator in India, Shombi Sharp, visited a village called Piplantri, in the northwestern state of Rajasthan, to see the unique way this community has transformed a barren patch of land into a forest. exuberant and prosperous. As the Resident Coordinator verified during his visit to the village, every time a girl is born in Piplantri the community celebrates it by planting 111 trees. This tradition has been going on for almost 15 years. With an average of 50 girls born a year, almost 400,000 trees have since germinated, and the birth of a daughter has become an occasion of celebration for the community. In addition to greening the arid desert area of Piplantri, this initiative has contributed to a change in attitude and mentality in the community, helping to elevate the role of women and girls, prevent child marriage and guarantee girls' access to a quality education. The United Nations team in India shares this story as part of its support for the Government of India's LiFE campaign, which was launched on World Environment Day 2022 with the joint participation of UNDP and UNEP. The LiFE campaign is a partnership between the Government of India, the Office of the Resident Coordinator in India, UNDP, UNEP, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the World Resources Institute (WRI). and the Center for Social and Behavior Change.