Research Action and Information Network for the Bodily Integrity of Women
RAINBO is an international nongovernmental organization working to end female circumcision and female genital mutilation through research, advocacy, health education, and rights-based social change.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
The Research Action and Information Network for the Bodily Integrity of Women, commonly known as RAINBO and sometimes stylized as RAINB♀, is an international nongovernmental organization focused on eliminating female circumcision and female genital mutilation (FC/FGM). It was established in 1994 by a group of African immigrants in the United States, including Nahid Toubia, a Sudanese surgeon who became one of the organization’s most prominent advocates and researchers. RAINBO developed an approach that combined public-health expertise with human-rights advocacy, community education, research, and support for institutional and legal change. The organization contributed to a broader shift in how FC/FGM was discussed internationally. Rather than treating the practice only as a clinical or medical problem, RAINBO helped frame it as an issue involving bodily integrity, gender equality, violence, autonomy, and human rights. Its work also emphasized that effective prevention and care required African leadership and culturally informed engagement. Toubia criticized sensationalized portrayals by Western institutions and media, arguing that language and framing could reinforce racialized stereotypes about African, Arab, and Muslim communities and provoke defensive reactions among affected populations. RAINBO’s stated orientation therefore combined opposition to the practice with sensitivity to its social and cultural context. RAINBO’s activities included producing research and policy material, supporting health-care providers, disseminating information for African immigrant and refugee communities, and connecting women’s health with international human-rights standards. In 1995 it published Toubia’s Female Genital Mutilation: A Call for Global Action, which examined the cultural significance of FC/FGM and proposed legal, religious, social, and political measures for addressing it. The same period also saw publication of Intersections Between Health and Human Rights: The Case of Female Genital Mutilation, based on an international workshop involving legal professionals, academics, social scientists, and activists. In 1998, Toubia and Susan Izett were responsible for producing the World Health Organization publication Female Genital Mutilation: an overview. The work reviewed prevalence, epidemiology, and health consequences and proposed research priorities and technically grounded policies for governments and nongovernmental organizations. In 1999, RAINBO’s African Immigrant Program issued practical materials including a technical manual for health-care providers, a guide to research and evaluation using FC/FGM as a case study, and a visual reference chart covering common forms of FC/FGM and defibulation. RAINBO also coordinated AMANITARE, a ten-year pan-African partnership on women’s and girls’ sexual and reproductive health and rights. The initiative ran from 1999 to 2009 and was launched in Kampala in 2000. It sought to translate commitments from the Vienna, Cairo, and Beijing world conferences into practical improvements in African women’s and girls’ lives, with particular attention to gender-based violence, coercion, sexuality, and reproductive autonomy. AMANITARE established 4 February as African Women’s Health and Rights Day, bringing together nongovernmental organizations, women’s groups, youth organizations, activists, artists, and government representatives. The available reference material does not establish RAINBO’s current operating status, leadership, finances, or present-day program portfolio.
History
RAINBO was founded in 1994 in the United States by African immigrants, among them Nahid Toubia, Sudan’s first female surgeon. The organization emerged at a time when international discussion of female circumcision and female genital mutilation was increasingly connecting medical consequences with questions of discrimination, violence, autonomy, and human rights. RAINBO’s contribution was to combine these strands through research, advocacy, education, and support for culturally informed health practice. The organization operated from offices in New York City and London and conducted work in Uganda, South Africa, The Gambia, and Nigeria. Its public-health and human-rights orientation challenged the tendency to approach FC/FGM solely as a technical medical issue. RAINBO instead promoted a framework centered on women’s bodily integrity and rights while maintaining that programs should be led by African voices and grounded in local social realities. Toubia argued that sensationalized external descriptions could stigmatize African, Arab, and Muslim communities and make prevention efforts less effective. In 1995, RAINBO published Toubia’s Female Genital Mutilation: A Call for Global Action. The publication addressed the cultural significance of the practice and outlined possible legal, religious, social, and political responses. RAINBO also produced Intersections Between Health and Human Rights: The Case of Female Genital Mutilation, drawing on an international workshop attended by legal specialists, academics, social scientists, and activists. These works reflected the organization’s effort to connect evidence, policy, and human-rights advocacy. RAINBO’s research role expanded through its involvement in the World Health Organization publication Female Genital Mutilation: an overview, produced in 1998 by Nahid Toubia and Susan Izett. The publication reviewed the prevalence, epidemiology, and health effects associated with FC/FGM and proposed research and policy directions for governments and nongovernmental organizations. In 1999, RAINBO’s African Immigrant Program published three practical resources: a technical manual for providers caring for women affected by circumcision, a research and evaluation guide using FC/FGM as a social-change case study, and a full-color reference chart illustrating common forms of FC/FGM and defibulation. A major institutional initiative was AMANITARE, a ten-year African partnership coordinated by RAINBO from 1999 to 2009. Launched in Kampala in 2000, the partnership sought to make women’s and girls’ sexual and reproductive health and rights an established part of civil and human rights practice. It drew on principles associated with the 1993 World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna, the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo, and the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing. Its agenda included gender-based violence and opposition to control or coercion based on sexuality or reproductive potential. AMANITARE established 4 February as African Women’s Health and Rights Day. The observance was intended to bring together nongovernmental organizations, women’s groups, youth organizations, activists, artists, and public officials to recognize progress and promote further action on sexual and reproductive health and rights. The available sources document RAINBO’s historical publications, partnerships, and geographic reach but do not provide reliable information about its current legal status, leadership, finances, or active programs.
- 2009
Scheduled end of AMANITARE
[1]The ten-year AMANITARE initiative reached the end of its stated program period.
- 2000
AMANITARE launched in Kampala
[1]The pan-African partnership was formally launched in Kampala, Uganda.
- 2000
African Women’s Health and Rights Day established
[1]AMANITARE established 4 February as a continent-wide day focused on African women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights.
- 1999
Launch period of AMANITARE
[1]RAINBO coordinated the beginning of a ten-year pan-African partnership on women’s and girls’ sexual and reproductive health and rights.
- 1999
African Immigrant Program resource series
[1]The program published a provider manual, a social-change research and evaluation guide, and a visual reference chart on FC/FGM and defibulation.
- 1998
WHO overview of female genital mutilation
[1]Nahid Toubia and Susan Izett of RAINBO produced a World Health Organization overview covering prevalence, epidemiology, health consequences, research, and policy.
- 1995
Early research and advocacy publications
[1]RAINBO published a global-action report by Nahid Toubia and a health-and-human-rights workshop report concerning female genital mutilation.
- 1994
RAINBO founded
[1]The organization was established in the United States by a group of African immigrants, including Nahid Toubia.
Products and positioning
African-led, rights-based, research-informed advocacy and education addressing female circumcision and female genital mutilation, with emphasis on bodily integrity, culturally sensitive communication, health-care practice, and institutional change.
Advocacy publication · 1995
Female Genital Mutilation: A Call for Global Action
A 1995 publication by Nahid Toubia examining the cultural context of female circumcision and female genital mutilation and proposing legal, religious, social, and political approaches to ending the practice. It represents RAINBO’s effort to link opposition to FC/FGM with broader human-rights and social-change strategies.
Research report · 1995
Intersections Between Health and Human Rights: The Case of Female Genital Mutilation
A report based on an international workshop that brought together legal professionals, academics, social scientists, and activists. The publication treated FC/FGM as an issue at the intersection of public health and human rights rather than as a narrowly clinical concern.
Public-health reference · 1998
Female Genital Mutilation: an overview
A comprehensive World Health Organization review produced by Nahid Toubia and Susan Izett of RAINBO. It addressed prevalence, epidemiology, health consequences, research needs, and policy approaches for agencies working to eliminate female genital mutilation.
Clinical training manual · 1999
Caring for Women with Circumcision: A Technical Manual for Health Care Providers
A 1999 technical manual designed to help health-care providers manage physical complications associated with circumcision, understand the practice’s social and cultural significance, and provide culturally sensitive counseling. It was issued through RAINBO’s African Immigrant Program.
Research and evaluation guide · 1999
Learning About Social Change: A Research and Evaluation Guidebook Using FC/FGM as a Case Study
A guide by Susan Izett and Nahid Toubia using FC/FGM as a case study for designing research and evaluating initiatives intended to understand and produce social change.
Health education material · 1999
FC/FGM Full Color Quick Reference Chart
An illustrated reference resource showing common forms of female circumcision and female genital mutilation and explaining defibulation. It was intended to support communication and clinical understanding among providers and affected communities.
Marketing campaigns
- 1999AMANITARE
Africa
A ten-year pan-African partnership coordinated by RAINBO to institutionalize recognition of women’s and girls’ sexual and reproductive health and rights as part of civil and human rights. Its agenda included gender-based violence and opposition to coercive control related to sexuality and reproductive capacity.
Outcome. The initiative operated through its stated 2009 end date and established 4 February as African Women’s Health and Rights Day.
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