Stoping FGM in Uganda Kumppanuus kulttuurin haitallisten piirteiden muuttamiseksi In Uganda female genital mutilation (FGM) was made illegal in 2010. Miria Matembe Doctor in Law and former minister in the Ugandan government was a key person in promoting the law banning FGM. Only Sabiny tribe (about 225 000 people) and the Pekot people o
f Karamojongthat in Eastern Uganda in a very underdeveloped area around Mt. Elgon practice it. Currently the FGM-ceremony is practiced regardless of the law every other year in December. It is a practice dating back thousands of years and associated with b
eliefs that people still want to hold on partly based on ignorance partly hoping to maintain their valued tradition. The main goal of the project is to create a network of cooperation between the actors in local government administration police education h
ealth care and civil society organizations including christian churces. They can change the general opinion against FGM when working in together. If needed they can together create a less harmful transition ritual.Central development policy objectives addr
essed in the project relate to health of girls and women. Abandoning FGM will release girls and women from even life threatening damage done to them. It will improve gender equality since it will make women socially accepted actors in the community without
 being mutilated. This will improve the status of girls and women and overall human rights in this remote and underdeveloped area. The project will establish a new operational structure to bring together the various local actors and opinion builders in the
 area. This will help them in learning how to develop their own community together promote democracy and foremost to improve the human dignity and rights of girls and women.The most central project tasks relate to training the trainers and supporting the l
ocal actors and opinion builders in their work against FGM. The local inhabitants are predominantly Christians. Churches are the most important grass root actors in people?s lives thus having a power to impact the opinions on FGM as well. Therefore the pro
ject involves the various denominations in the area and their leaders in addition to the local government educational and other actors. Aikaisempi hanke Tyttöjen sukuelinten silpomisen lopettaminen Ugandassa (interventiokoodi 28506718) saavutti tavoitteensa hyvin. Sukuelinten silpomista ei enää harjoiteta eikä edes haluta muistella vaan halutaan puuttua muihin haitallisiin kulttuuripii
rteisiin kuten naisiin kohdistuvaan väkivaltaan. Halutaan antaa tytöille ja pojille tasa-arvo-opetusta terveysvalistusta sekä käytännön koulutusta kädentaidoissa jolloin he pystyvät hankkimaan omia tuloja ja välittämään osaamistaan eteenpäin. 
Jatkovaiheessa on tarkoitus keskittyä seuraaviin alueisiin (tärkeysjärjestyksessä): Tyttöjen ja poikien laajempi kouluttaminen naisiin kohdistuvan väkivallan ehkäiseminen ravitsemus maatalouden kehitys ja vesihuollon järjestäminen. Yhteistyökumpp
ani Life together International  (LTI) jatkaa yhteistyötä joka tapauksessa mutta sen rahoituksen varaan ei voi laskea pitkän aikavälin toimintaa vaan vain yksittäisiä tapahtumia tai kertaluontoisia hankintoja.