Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Hello to everyone.
Mr. Chair and members of the subcommittee, first of all, I need to express my heartfelt thanks to the chair of the Subcommittee on International Human Rights of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development and to all its members for having actually thought of me.
Out of solidarity for my fellow women, I would also like to congratulate the other champions for being chosen, a choice no doubt justified by their commitment and determination to promote women's rights not only in their respective countries, but also around the world.
I am Mariam Lamizana, and I come from Burkina Faso, a country in West Africa.
The population of my country is 21 million, 52% of whom are women. The female population had a primary school enrolment rate for girls of 87.5% in 2019-2020, and it has a high infant mortality rate, which fell from 65% to 30% between 2010 and 2021.
It is also important to highlight the prevalence of negative socio-cultural factors which make worse things like child marriage, female genital mutilation, violence against women and children, feminicide and rape, which has a terrible fallout on the lives of women and children.
With regard to female genital mutilation, thanks to the combined efforts of the government, civil society groups, technical and financial partners and some traditional and religious leaders, the prevalence of this practice among children aged 0 to 14, nationally, currently stands at 11%, according to the Continuous Multisectoral Survey. This level of prevalence reflects the enormous progress made, although these efforts must continue and intensify to achieve zero tolerance of female genital mutilation.
I want to remind people that this practice has caused, and continues to cause, serious harm to the sexual and reproductive health rights of thousands of girls and women in the country, and has bereaved several families.
By way of illustration, I'm reminded of the sad situation experienced by the niece of one of my school friends. This niece, the only daughter among her mother's four children, became disabled for the rest of her life because her paternal aunt had performed an excision on her without her parents' consent.
When that happened, something in me snapped. In light of this tragedy, I wanted to understand whether this practice was justified in any way. I did not find an answer, either from my family or from society, so I then knew in my heart of hearts that I would do everything in my power to put an end to this practice. Later on, this deep-seated conviction would be reinforced in my professional career, when I implemented the recommendations of a national seminar on excision in Burkina Faso, held in May 1988. Indeed, this historic seminar marked the beginning of the country's awareness that it needed to stop the practice of excision. This fight culminated in the adoption, in 1996, of a law banning female genital mutilation, otherwise known as the anti-FGM law.
As the first permanent secretary of the national structure to combat the practice of excision, I led the fight against this practice and helped set up programs across the country.
My involvement in the fight against the practice of excision has helped bring this issue into the open, as for a very long time it was considered taboo in my country. Bringing it into the open made it possible to bring on board traditional, religious and political leaders, as well as many civil society organizations, who all helped to promote the idea of ending this practice. This collective effort enabled Burkina Faso to record a prevalence of 11% among children aged 0-14 and it make Africa a leader in the fight against female genital mutilation.
On top of that, we are driven by the desire to end female genital mutilation and other forms of gender-based violence as quickly as possible. And so, in collaboration with others and thanks to the support of technical and financial partners, we have set up a national framework called Voix de Femmes, an non-governmental organization.
This organization is a key player in promoting an end to violence against women and children in my country. In Ouagadougou, my country's capital, it has created a program for the prevention and holistic management of violence against women and children. This program is unique and also a reference in the area of prevention of gender-based violence and victim care.
At the regional level, I should point out that I am also President of the Inter-African Committee on Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children, a regional organization that brings together 29 African and 17 non-African countries. It is in this capacity that I, along with the other members of the Inter-African Committee's leadership, have made greatly helped to mobilize the heads of state and government of the 29 member countries, as well all first ladies, to take the practice of excision into account in public policy and to call on partners to help end this scourge.
Internationally, my involvement, along with that of other interested parties, led to the adoption of a historic resolution on December 20, 2012 by the United Nations General Assembly, calling on the global community to step up the fight against female genital mutilation.
My tireless work, over some thirty years of my life, has also been fuelled by the collective commitment and enthusiasm of people who believe in community and social mobilization and by the political will of various political figures. In short, it has been fueled by a chain of national and global solidarity around the fight against female genital mutilation.
The merit of our work at a national, regional and international level has been recognized by the United Nations Population Fund in Burkina Faso through the creation of the Mariam Lamizana Prize. This award celebrates excellence in all types of media communication and encourages journalists and bloggers to fight against female genital mutilation.
At this point, I would like to again sincerely thank the chair of the Subcommittee on International Human Rights of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development for the study on the recognition of international human rights champions, which values and honours our work with this award. Beyond the award, being recognized in this way will challenge us to stay the course and continue the struggle until there is zero tolerance for female genital mutilation in Burkina Faso, in Africa and around the world.
This is why my commitment to mobilize the whole of society will never waver in the interest of making everyone and every organization join in the fight to prevent violence against women in Burkina Faso. The coming years will be crucial for this mobilization in my country, Burkina Faso, which is currently experiencing an unprecedented security crisis.
Violence against women and girls continues to play out physically, sexually and psychologically. It includes domestic violence, battery, psychological violence, sexual exploitation, female genital mutilation and child marriage. This has negative repercussions on psychological, sexual and reproductive health, particularly for the more than 1,999,127 internally displaced people, 58.42% of whom are children, 23.97% women and 17.61% men, and who are currently the victims of a humanitarian crisis with all kinds of ramifications.
However, despite this difficult context which could upend gains made over decades of struggle, I am firmly convinced that if everyone involved remains determined and engaged, we will succeed in putting an end to this degrading practice from another time.
In conclusion, I would like to assure you that my commitment to the well-being of women and children has, over the years, become a sacred trust that is part and parcel of my life and will remain so as long as l live.
Women and children nourish our society, and no sacrifice has ever been, nor will ever be, too great in the fight for their rights.
Long live global solidarity. Long live cooperation.
Thank you.