Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is child abuse. It is illegal in the UK and affects South Asian communities.
Over 130 million girls and women worldwide have undergone FGM. Girls and women are mutilated to protect the honour of a family, to improve their marriageability and preserve their chastity. It is also illegal to arrange for a child to be taken abroad for FGM. If caught, offenders face a large fine and a prison sentence of up to 14 years.
FGM is rooted in culture and not religion. The Qu’ran, the Old Testament and the New Testament are silent on the subject yet FGM is practiced in more than 29 countries across Africa, parts of the Middle East, South East Asia and countries where migrants from FGM affected communities live. In India and Pakistan FGM is practised by the Dawoodi Bohra community, a sect of the Shia-Muslims. It is traditionally carried out by a woman with no medical training or without anaesthetics and antiseptic treatments to ease the pain. Knives, scissors, scalpels, pieces of glass or razor blades are used to perform the FGM on girls whilst they are forcibly restrained.
The majority of girls are mutilated between 5-15 years of age. They suffer life- long damage and acute health problems including difficulty urinating, menstruating, having sex and trouble in child birth. The psychological impact is devastating.
City University London and Equality Now published a study last July 2014. Around 103,000 women aged 15-49, and about 24,000 women aged 50 and over (who had migrated to England and Wales) are living with the consequences of FGM. What is startling is that 60,000 girls under the age of 15 are at risk of FGM here in the UK.
The Government is committed to eradicating FGM in a generation and we must protect our young girls and women. They matter.
