From the Horn of Africa to the Western shores of the sub-Saharan nations, every day 6,000 girls are subjected to a practice called female genital mutilation (FGM). And every day with little more than fierce determination and deep love for their communities, brave activists are leading the path against all odds to break the silence about this centuries-old tradition. Together, these women and men have created a formidable grassroots movement to end FGM. Africa Rising is a powerful documentary portraying the indomitable grassroots movement to end female genital mutilation. Travelling through remote villages in Burkina Faso, Kenya, Mali, Somalia and Tanzania, Africa Rising celebrates the resilience and determination of the human spirit to change destiny against all odds.
The film was followed by a panel discussion with Véronique Arnault (Director for Multilateral Relations and Human Rights at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for External Relations), Elissar Sarrouh (Director, UNIFEM Office, Brussels), Sietske Steneker (Director, UNFPA Office, Brussels), Jacqui Hunt (Director, Equality Now, London).