Mutilation of African girls still rampant despite ban in UK

Citing data from a report done by a special consortium of medical groups, trade unions and human rights organisations, the Guardian said that there are around 66,000 African victims of female genitalia mutilation (FGM) in Wales and England, and that over 24,000 underaged girls are at risk. The report also revealed that in the past three years, over 2,000 victims sought for treatment in hospitals in London. The data suggests that despite the banning of the ultra-traditional practice of preparing African girls into adulthood since 1985, FGM still lingers in the UK.

The Guardian also said that so strong is the need to practice this gruesome tradition in African families in the UK that a standard now is that they pool their resources to bring a "cutter" overseas to perform the acts on their little girls.

Glasgow-based charity Roshni's Anela Anwar said, "It's a custom that is very much alive, not just in home countries but in Scotland. People have given us information saying girls are being cut in Scotland or we hear that girls are taken back home to be cut over the summer holidays."

Sarah McCulloch, from the Agency for Culture and Change Management stated that the cutting is not only reserved for average-income African families in the UK. Cutters are said to be getting work in expensive private clinics located in some major cities in the UK, including London, Birmingham and Bristol.

McCulloch saw that the problem lies in the inability of African migrants' ignorance to world culture. She said, "Wherever [ethnic minority] communities [that practise FGM] are residing, it is a problem," she says. "Because why would they stop? Why should they stop? What will make them stop? No one is giving them information. If they arrive in this country, they do not know the laws of the land - they come with their cultures and hold on to them."

The Guardian said that the visibility of FGM in urban communities and major countries in the UK has finally picked up the attention of lawmakers. The UK newspaper said the Home Office awarded £250,000 to combat the proliferation of FGM by training teachers, nurses and GPs and the promotion of the national FGM helpline. Nonetheless, one survivor believes that the need to reform the law and give it sharp teeth is key to combating FGM.

"Until we have a better system in place, I guarantee in 10 years' time we'll be having the same conversation," Leyla Hussein, who presented The Cruel Cut on Channel 4, told the Guardian.

Tags

female genitalia mutilation (FGM), Roshni, Agency for Culture and Change Management

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