Can you imagine if your summer holiday was ‘cutting season’ instead? We must #endFGM! #HumanRights http://t.co/FM2gZEZwUx @newscomauHQ
— UNFPA (@UNFPA) August 5, 2015
Today, under the revised version of Somalia’s constitution, FGM is considered “torture,” and a recent article published on news.com.au describes just how inhumane the process is. Every June becomes “cutting season” for young women, and despite the common misconception that FGM only happens in parts of Africa, this latest report shows that thousands of women across the U.K. undergo the trauma.
As per the Equality Now study, “an estimated 137,000 women and girls with FGM … were permanently resident in England and Wales in 2011. This represented a prevalence rate of 4.8 per 1,000 population.” These young women are often sent back to various parts of Africa where the FGM takes place, “never to return the same again.”
No young girl should go through #childmarriage or #FGM! Let’s end both in this generation! #endFGM #endChildMarriage pic.twitter.com/XMUc3ZaGCX
— UNFPA (@UNFPA) August 5, 2015
The problem is that in some countries, while the practice within borders is banned, there are no laws against taking a young woman elsewhere to complete the procedure. While Australia recently closed this loophole and increased the punishment associated with the practice, the prevalence of FGM remains far too high.
Somalia's announcing plans to #EndFGM for good.
AMAZING news 🙌http://t.co/yzeNzqzuvZ— Girl Effect (@girleffect) August 5, 2015
Somalia’s ban, however, takes a distinct step in the right direction. It has yet to be passed by the country’s parliament, but if it is approved, it would solidify the legal ramifications associated with FGM. And with the chorus of voices that are being raised across Twitter and the world, it seems that the time may finally be ripe to #endfgm.
