NewsHour special correspondent Fred de Sam Lazaro asks Molly Melching about her efforts to educate Senegalese women about the harms of genital cutting.
Notice the approach she uses. She does not begin by claiming to know what is BEST for them. She does not tell them the efficacy of the scientific method. Rather, she begins by establishing trust, and she is tolerant of the customs of the people. Instead of shouting “You are foolish” and “this is rubbish” she establishes a connection, a place where a conversation can take place.
“Senegalese are very accepting,” she says of people in that predominantly Islamic West African nation. “But they would never have opened up to me if I did not show respect.”
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