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A project by Emanuela Zuccalà, co-produced by ActionAid NGO, curated by Zona

UNCUT is a multimedia journalism project on female genital mutilations (FGM) and an ongoing campaign for the end of this traditional harmful practice. According to Unicef and the World Health Organization, more than 200 million women in the world have undergone a type of FGM: it causes women’s subordination, early forced marriage, school dropout, and exclusion from the social and economic life.

An obligatory ritual in certain societies, it is believed to “purify” women from their own femininity, sentencing them to undergo excruciating pain to make them virgins for life, resistant to sexual pleasure, and therefore – the main aim – make them devoted and faithful wives. According to the available data, the victims are concentrated in 30 countries, of which 27 are in Africa. The European Parliament estimates that in the EU around 500,000 immigrant women are affected by a wound that comprises severe health consequences and complex integration paths.

UNCUT is an immersive and data-driven web-documentary that, through a strong interaction of text, photography and video, explains the spread of FGM and showcases engaging stories of women who have formed coalitions to eradicate this practice in three African countries: Kenya, Ethiopia, and Somaliland. An interactive map of Africa, coming from a a data-journalism survey, presents the statistics of the continent and an in-depth analysis of each involved country, while a map of Europe provides the most recent estimates on the prevalence of FGM in the European Union, Norway and Switzerland.

The web-documentary UNCUT was launched on February 6, 2016, the International Day for Zero Tolerance of FGM, by three European media (Corriere della Sera, El Pais, Worldcrunch), as the conclusion of an awareness campaign that opened on November 25, 2015, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.

UNCUT is also a series of articles (see the links below), a photo exhibition, a short documentary.

• Emanuela Zuccalà: author, research and data, video
• Simona Ghizzoni: photography, video
• Alessandro d’Alfonso: graphic design, maps, web development
• Valeria De Berardinis: data research, production assistance
• Paolo Turla, Aline Hervé: video editing
• Giulia Tornari: supervision

Our special thanks to Renata Ferri and to Barbara Antonelli.

Cover video: the trailer of the short movie Uncut, launched on October 8, 2016, at A Window on the World, Images from Reality International Documentary Festival (Milan, Italy). 

Project links

• UNCUT. La guerra delle donne contro le mutilazioni genitali (Webdoc). Corriere della Sera, 06/02/2016 (IT)
• UNCUT. La lucha de las mujeres contra la mutilación genital femenina (Webdoc). El Pais, 06/02/2016 (ES)
• UNCUT. Women's war against female genital mutilations (Webdoc). Worldcrunch, 06/02/2016 (EN)
• Project Website (IT/EN/ES)

Coverage

• A Corriere Sociale e Io donna il Journalism Grants della Gates Foundation. Corriere della Sera (Italy), 04/06/2015 (IT )
• An Instagram photo diary of our trips in Kenya and Ethiopia. Burn Magazine, October 2015 (EN )
• #uncutproject: il progetto contro l’infibulazione raccontato dalle donne. Io donna (Italy), 21/11/2015 (IT )
• Mutilazioni genitali femminili: «Le nostre figlie non saranno più tagliate». Io donna (Italy), print and online, 21/11/2015 (IT )
• Mutilazioni genitali femminili: l’Africa reagisce. Io donna (Italy), 25/11/2015 (IT )
• Mutilazioni genitali femminili, 500 mila vittime in Europa. Corriere della Sera (Italy), 25/11/2015 (IT )
• Facing The Scourge Of Female Genital in Africa. Worldcrunch, 25/11/2015 (EN )
• In Somaliland, mothers save daughters from genital mutilation rites. Worldcrunch, 26/11/2015 (EN )
• Photographer @simona.ghizzoni’s #uncutproject Aims to Help Victims of FGM Feel Seen. Instagram Blog, 26/11/2015 (EN )
• Emanuela Zuccala' torna a raccontare il mondo delle donne e i loro diritti violati con il progetto UNCUT. Radio Capodistria (Slovenia), 25/11/2015 (IT )
• In Somaliland, mothers save daughters from genital mutilation rites. Somaliland Press (Somaliland), 27/11/2015 (EN )
• "Giu' le mani dalle nostre figlie". Io donna (Italy), paper edition, 21-28 November 2015 (IT )
• "Il mio lavoro era tagliare le bambine". Io donna (Italy), 2/12/2015 (IT )
• When Migrants Carry Scars, Female Genital Mutilation In Europe. Worldcrunch, 2/12/2015 (EN )
• Mutilazioni genitali: due donne Masai in prima linea. Io donna (Italy), 21/12/2015 (IT )
• Mutilazioni genitali: anche l'Italia affronta il problema. Corriere della Sera (Italy), 19/01/2016 (IT )
• La seconda vita delle bambine di Kongelai. Io donna (Italy), print and online, 06/02/2016 (IT )
• Mutilazioni genitali: quanto ci vorrà per sconfiggerle? Io donna (Italy), 06/02/2016 (IT )
• ¿Cómo abordamos y contamos la Mutilación Genital Femenina? Por fin en Africa, 06/02/2016 (ES )
• The photo series from West Pokot, Kenya, shortlisted at the Sony World Photography Award (UK). (EN )
• El silencio y la falta de información, principales obstáculos para acabar con la mutilación genital femenina. TusMedios (Spain), 29/02/2016 (ES )
• Det åpne såret. Verdensmagasinet X (Norway), print version, April 2016 (NOR )
• Simona Ghizzoni's photo series on Pokot people in Kenya wins 3rd prize in Contemporary Issues category at the Sony World Photo Award in London (UK), 21/04/2016 (EN )
• Det åpne såret. Verdensmagasinet X (Norway), 26 April 2016 (NOR )
• UNCUT becomes a photo exhibition, at Cortona on the Move Festival, Cortona (Italy), July 2016 (ITA )
• The reportage from Somaliland, published by the paper edition of Io donna, wins the Jury Special Mention at "Angelo Maria Palmieri" Journalism Award (Avezzano, Italy, 29/04/2016) (ITA )
• Female genital mutilation: Hope blooms in Somaliland. Mail & Guardian (South Africa), 26 May 2016 (EN )
• Uncut: Female genital mutilation in Somaliland. Mail & Guardian (South Africa), 8 June 2016 (EN )
• UNCUT wins as best web-documentary at Capodarco L'Altro Festival (Italy), 25 June 2016 (IT )
• ​Uncut, unwed and cast out, but a better life awaited. Mail & Guardian (South Africa), print and online, 1 July 2016 (EN )
• Women of the Maasai fight back for their daughters. Mail & Guardian (South Africa), print and online, 8 July 2016 (EN )
• "Il risveglio dell'orgoglio": interview to Simona Ghizzoni on the UNCUT photo exhibition. Il Manifesto (Italy), 22 July 2016 (IT )
• UNCUT awarded as finalist by the Doc/It Women Award at the Cinema Festival in Venice, 3 September 2016 (IT )
• UNCUT wins 2nd prize at the Italian journalism award “Gruppo dello Zuccherificio per il giornalismo d’inchiesta”, 18 September 2016 (IT )
• The new short movie UNCUT has been officially shortlisted at the documentary festival "Visioni dal mondo" in Milano, Italy, 8 October 2016 (IT )
• The short movie UNCUT wins two special mentions at the festival "Visioni dal mondo" in Milano, Italy, 9 October 2016 (IT )
• The photos of UNCUT win a special mention at the Amilcare Ponchielli Photo Award. Milano, Italy, 26 October 2016 (IT )
• UNCUT wins the "Semplicemente Donna Harmony Award". Cortona, Italy, 18 November 2016 (IT )
• The Somaliland chapter broadcasted by Tv2000. Italy, 17 November 2016 (IT )
• The short documentary movie UNCUT wins the Genova Film Festival as the best documentary. Genova, Italy, 4 December 2016 (IT )
• A Milano arriva Uncut, cortometraggio contro le mutilazioni genitali femminili. Vita (Italy), 30 January 2017 (IT )
• Il tariffario: 300 euro per il taglio del clitoride. Le ex tagliatrici si raccontano a Milano. Corriere della Sera (Italy), 1 February 2017 (IT )
• The short documentary UNCUT has been officially shortlisted at the documentary festival "Visioni Italiane" in Bologna, Italy, March 2017 (IT )
• The short documentary UNCUT has been officially shortlisted at Festival Internacional de Cine y Derechos Humanos, Valencia, Spain, 18 February 2017 (ES )
• In Italia, fino a 57mila donne con mutilazioni genitali. La Sicilia (Italy), 2 February 2017 (IT )
• Stop alle mutilazioni genitali femminili, mobilitazione sui social network. Redattore Sociale (Italy), 2 February 2017 (IT )
• Le bambine salvate. Internazionale (Italy), paper edition, 3 February 2017 (IT )
• Mutilazioni genitali femminili, un dramma anche europeo. Radio Vaticana (Italy), 3 February 2017 (IT )
• Giornata mondiale contro le mutilazioni genitali femminili, un webdoc racconta il calvario delle donne africane. Il Fatto Quotidiano (Italy), 6 February 2017 (IT )
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• Mutilazioni genitali femminili, in 24 Paesi su 29 è fuori legge. Repubblica (Italy), 6 February 2017 (IT )
• Stop infibulazione: un appello per 200 milioni di donne nella Giornata mondiale. Repubblica (Italy), 4 February 2017 (IT )
• Uncut. La lotta delle donne contro le mutilazioni genitali femminili. Famiglia Cristiana (Italy), 6 February 2017 (IT )
• Écorchées vives. Le Courrier International (France), print and online editions, 9 February 2017 (FR )
• The web-documentary UNCUT wins the X Premi Mila de Periodisme for Gender Equality of the City Council of Lleida (Spain), 15 March 2017 (ES )
• The web-documentary UNCUT wins the Mention of Honour at the Journalism Award "Sabrina Sganga" (Florence, Italy), May 2017 (IT )
• UNCUT is finalist at VI Premio Internacional de Periodismo “Colombine” (Almeria, Spain) June 2017. (ES )
• UNCUT is finalist at II Premio de Periodismo “María Luz Morales” (Barcelona, Spain), June 2017. (ES )
• The short documentary UNCUT wins the Jury's Special Mention at L'Anello Debole Award (Capodarco, Italy), June 2017. (IT )

Photo gallery