The Anti FGM-Iran (Action Against Female Genital Mutilation) project is seeking to employ assistants for a team in the three main provinces in Iranian Kurdistan. The goal is to combat female genital mutilation and to collect data on suicide and violence against women.

The anti-FGM team wants to visit two villages a day in the three provinces of West Azerbaijan, Kurdistan and Kermanshah. There the teams will tell the villagers about the dangers of FGM, healthcare surrounding circumcision and women’s rights.

They will also collect information about traditions and will reach out to Roma traveler groups and self learned elderly women to stop promoting FGM in villages. In general these persons are paid small amounts of money to carry out FGM.

Male members of the team will make face to face contact with the village clergy men, village headman and other village men and distribute information and Fatwas from prominent religious leaders against FGM.

Earlier research was carried out by the German NGO Wadi in Iraqi Kurdistan, Wadi researcher Arvid Vormann said the FGM numbers were higher than expected. Together with women groups,www.ekurd.netmedia and human rights organizations, Wadi initiated a campaign to stop FGM in the Kurdish region. The goal is to carry out the same projects in Iran.