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The Fight to End Female Genital Cutting

Molly Melching founded Tostan, a nongovernmental organization, to empower African communities to bring about sustainable development and positive social transformation while respecting human rights. Tostan works in six countries in West and East Africa to educate communities on such important issues as female genital cutting (FGC), forced marriage, and child and maternal health.

Join us on March 26, at 9 a.m. EDT (13:00 GMT), for a global webchat in which you can learn more about FGC, why it is practiced, and how Melching and her organization are working to end it.

Having lived and worked in Senegal for more than 32 years, Molly Melching has dedicated her life to empowering communities at the grassroots level. She has created two basic education programs for women and adolescent girls and their communities. She is highly regarded for her expertise in nonformal education, human rights training and social transformation. Her work with Tostan, which she founded in 1991, has brought her international attention for results in many areas, including infant and maternal mortality, school and birth registration, female leadership, abandonment of FGC and child marriage. She has received numerous awards for her work.

If you would like to participate in this global webchat, please go to http://statedept.connectsolutions.com/health/. No registration is needed. Simply choose "Enter as a Guest," type in your preferred screen name and join the discussion. We accept questions and comments in advance of, and at any time during, the program.

The transcript of this webchat will be available on America.gov's webchat page ( http://www.america.gov/multimedia/askamerica.html ), where information about upcoming webchats is also available.

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://www.america.gov)