𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐖𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧’𝐬 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓: 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐭

On the occasion of the International Day of Action for Women’s Health 2025, a powerful Fireside Chat was convened courtesy of Y-ACT, a youth-led initiative of Amref Health Africa, in partnership with Youth Partnership for Peace and Development (YPPD).

The dialogue featured three inspiring female speakers—representing youth activists, medical practitioners, and policymakers each bringing invaluable lived experiences and insights to the forefront of the conversation on advancing women’s health and rights.

Through personal narratives and expert perspectives, the speakers highlighted persistent gaps, emerging opportunities, and the urgent need for inclusive, gender-responsive health systems.

The engagement concluded with a renewed collective call to action, urging the government and relevant stakeholders to fulfill their commitments to improve and protect women’s health and rights across all levels of society.

She also pointed out how men’s traditional societies have maintained a positive identity, pride, and structure, unlike the Bondo society, which is increasingly shunned by women due to its association with FGM.

“We want to change that narrative,” she said. “We want women to once again be proud of their society, to reclaim its true identity. Men must play a key role in this transformation.”

Madam Turay urged men to protect women, noting that failing to support efforts to end FGM puts their own daughters and sisters at risk. She also shared her own painful experience of being initiated into the Bondo society at a young age, stressing that her activism is not influenced by foreign donors, as some critics claim, but by her personal suffering.

The training featured an interactive session where journalists engaged in group discussions and presentation on the media’s role in ending FGM. Many participants, some of whom initially held fixed views in favour of the practice, admitted that their opposition to anti-FGM campaigns stemmed from ignorance. After the session, they pledged to become ambassadors for the cause.

In conclusion, Madam Turay declared, “What is happening now is not Bondo society it is violence masquerading as culture and it must stop.