FGM tends to leave on thinking that it is a problem which plagues ‘other’ nations, however the eradication of FGM is not limited to African or Muslim nations, it is human rights violation that follows women and girls across the globe. Recent news has begun to shed a little light on a global fight, which in many ways is only in its infancy, against FGM.
Last month the New York Times ran an editorial, A Victory for Women, on three women from Guinea who won their appeal to a denied asylum claim in a Manhattan court. Under the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, the panel of three judges ruled unanimously, that the Board of Immigration Appeals, the highest immigration tribunal in the country, committed "significant errors" and even ignored their own regulations. The granting of appeal was more than just a victory for the three women, but also a window of light for many women who have been victims of FGM. However glorious the win may seem it has showed a huge societal failure in viewing that FGM is a one time persecution that ends once the cutting is over. For women and girls who are victims of FGM the pain and torture of the procedure are far from a one time affair.
The issue of FGM has risen in other western countries in recent months such as in France where many West Africans are fighting female genital mutilation and their fight is not as small as one might think as, according to the French Institute of Demographic Studies, some 50,000 immigrant women in the country were registered as victims of FGM in 2004 alone. The study highlights the far reaching impact of FGM, and the need to educate and advocate against FGM amongst immigrant populations in the west.
"Immigrants have a tendency to cling to their traditions and customs , sometimes even more so than those who stay at home – for fear of losing them or of being socially rejected," said Khady Koita, a Senegalese immigrant and president of a European network for the prevention of traditional practices harmful to the health of women and children, which operates in France.
Under French law FGM falls under Article 222 of the criminal code on violence, which can carry a prison sentences of up to 20 years for both those who preform the procedure and for parents.
Many countries where FGM has been common have passed laws to ban the practice, however laws have proven to be ineffective on their own, as often the practice is deeply rooted in the culture or history. Additionally laws prove futile without education and awareness, as many countries have discovered, only when its been at the high cost of death. Such as can be seen in the following posts; Egypt Makes Huge Strides in Putting an End to Female Circumcision and Girls Death in Burkina Faso Has Many Wondering If Laws are Enough!. However many FGM related deaths never make it into the media, nor are they often reported.
In Yemen many FGM; which was banned in 2001 in private and public health facilities, by the Ministry of Health, and is most often preformed on newborns; has left many FGM related deaths unreported. Thus the failure of laws alone to end the practice has led the government to seek additional strategies. Earlier this month in Yemen the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood (SCMC), a government body moved to stem female genital mutilation (FGM). A national action has been composed to combat the long standing practice of FGM in the country, currently the plan is awaiting Cabinet approval. The plan is a huge step in the eradication of FGM in the country, and could lead as an example for other countries fighting to truly end FGM in all forms.
While rates of FGM have fallen in many countries, the fight to end the practice is far from over and efforts must not only continue in countries where the practice has a long standing history, but also in the West as the fight for gender equality and an end to sexual violence is global and will not be won without a united effort. FGM must be clearly seen as a human rights violation, and not a one time instance of abuse. Therefore education and awareness on the long term effects must be put into place, as should laws be established that address the severity of the crime, and in doing so on a global scale we can begin to see the end of this extreme form of gender-based violence.
Please see my previous posts on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)/Female Circumcision for more information and background on the issue. Please also see the World Health Organization (WHO) FGM Fact Sheet for more on the long term consequences of FGM.
