Molly Melching Talks Tostan with Katherine Schwarzenegger

In preparation for ‘The Women’s Conference’ this fall, Melching and Schwarzenegger discuss women’s empowerment in Senegal

Though fall seems far away, preparations are already underway for the two-day Women’s Conference which will be held in sunny Long Beach, California, October 26-27. The conference, gathering more than 100 internationally-acclaimed visionaries and over 25,000 women from all walks of life, will serve as a place to discuss, educate, and inspire women and create Architects of Change, women who recognize problems and seek solutions in their homes, in their communities, and in the world.

Molly Melching, who accepted an invitation to speak at the two day event hosted by the Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and California’s First Lady, Maria Shriver, took a moment to sit down with Katherine Schwarzennegger and share her story, along with that of a Senegalese mother who lost two daughters to the traditional practice of female genital cutting (FGC).

Established ‘Architects of Change,’ Melching and the NGO Tostan help empower women in Senegal and across Africa to stand up in defense of their daughters and in defense of the human right to health. The following blog post is one in a series from The Women’s Conference, celebrating Mother’s Day.

Read Katherine Schwarzenegger’s full blog post and check out more information on The Women’s Conference, which hosts events year-round.