Fran P. Hosken was an American writer, feminist, and social activist. She founded the Women's International Network in 1975, and published a quarterly journal on women's health issues that became known, in particular, for its research into female genital mutilation (FGM). Her report on FGM, The Hosken Report: Genital and Sexual Mutilation of Females (1979), was influential in persuading the international community, including the World Health Organization

World Health Organization

The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health...

, to make efforts to end the practice.

Background

Hosken was born as Franziska Porges in Vienna

Vienna

Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

, Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

, where her father was a physician, and emigrated with her family to the United States in 1938. She attended Smith College

Smith College

Smith College is a private, independent women's liberal arts college located in Northampton, Massachusetts. It is the largest member of the Seven Sisters...

, and in 1944 obtained a master's degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Design

Harvard Graduate School of Design

The Harvard Graduate School of Design is a graduate school at Harvard University offering degrees in Architecture, Landscape Architecture, and Urban Planning and Design.-History:...

, one of the first women to do so. She joined the Coast Guard during the Second World War, working in communications. She married James Hosken in 1947. They had three children, and divorced in 1962.

Selected works

• The Language of Cities: A Visual Introduction to the Form and Function of the City. Schenkman Pub. Co, 1972.
• Urban development and Housing in Africa. Hosken, 1973.
• The Kathmandu Valley Towns: A Record of Life and Change in Nepal. Weatherhill, 1974.
• The Hosken Report: Genital and Sexual Mutilation of Females. Women's International Network News, 1979.
• Female Sexual Mutilations: The facts and Proposals for Action. Women's International Network News, 1980.
• "Towards a Definition of Women's Rights," Human Rights Quarterly, vol 3, issue 2, May 1981.
• The Childbirth Picture Book: A Picture Story of Reproduction from a Woman's View. Women's International Network News, 1989.
• Stop Female Genital Mutilation. Women's International Network News, 1995.

Further reading

• Shell-Duncan, Bettina and Ylva Hernlund. "The Hosken Report", Female "Circumcision" in Africa: Culture, Controversy, and Change. Lynne Rienner, 2000.