KarunaNews Story

More than 7,000 people in Guinea-Bissau actively engaged with a traveling theater as part of a 16-day nationwide campaign to raise awareness of how gender based violence can affect young girls’ physical and mental health. Twenty-five actors from the National Ballet, the Nossa Patria Amada, performed three plays at local markets and then discussed female genital mutilation, early marriage and HIV/AIDS with audiences. It was run by the Ministry of Social Action, Family and Promotion of Women with UNFPA between Nov. 25 and Dec. 10 2023. “I speak with my mother every single day about my marriage to an older man, but she always says ‘these are our ways, our traditions’,” said one woman. “So I’m really happy with this caravan.”