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Ajouter un commentaire1. What is female genital mutilation ? Female genital mutilation (FGM) refers to all procedures involving the cutting, stitching or any injury to the female genital organs performed for no medical reason. It is an ancestral practice that has been given several justifications including culture, hygiene or beauty. At the end of the day, however, it is also a way of controlling women’s body and sexuality. Finding a balance between respecting cultural practices and defending women’s rights is not an easy task. However, FGM clearly violates many rights contained in human rights treaties.
FGM is practiced in 28 sub-Saharan African countries, Iraq (among the Kurdish population), the Middle East, Egypt, Yemen, Palestine, India (among certain groups), and even in South America.
2. Does FGM happen in Europe ? How does FGM concern the EU ?
An estimated half a million women living in Europe are affected by FGM, but we believe that the real amount is higher. In the EU27, the European Parliament estimates that 180 000 women and girls are at risk of having their genitals mutilated every year. Our call is precisely for the EU institutions to collect comparable and reliable data on the prevalence of FGM.
Most often girls of Diaspora communities living in Europe are taken back to the country of origin of their family where it is practiced. But it is also happening within the EU. Several cases related to FGM have been brought to court in France.Yet, there is a general lack of awareness in Europe concerning FGM, even if it is an EU concern, happening in Europe, and affecting EU citizens.
The EU has a very important role to play in coordinating Member States’ action and to take into consideration the cross-border dimension of FGM, in terms of relations between the EU and the girl’s country of origin, as well as within the EU. In particular, cooperation is needed in cases where girls are brought to countries where they are less protected.
3. What is the EU doing on this matter ? And what should it be doing ?
So far, the EU has implemented only a few concrete measures. However, the European Commission and the European Parliament have expressed their political commitment to combat violence against women and FGM in particular. The taskforce overseeing the implementation of the Guidelines on Violence against women is planning a regional campaign against female genital mutilation and forced marriages in Africa and Asia. Also, the European Parliament, in its annual report on human rights, has instructed the Commission and the Council to look at FGM and work on gender issues. The High Representative Ashton and Reding released a statement on 6 February, the international day against FGM,condemning the practice that severely violates the human rights and dignity of hundreds of thousands women and girls and calling for the eradication of this practice. This statement is a promising first step as it recognizes the need to harmonise external and internal EU practices concerning FGM. What implementation measures will be taken now remains to be seen.
We see many more opportunities through which the EU can effectively contribute to ending FGM. We have identified five main areas. First, collecting data and raising awareness on FGM. Second, training health care professionals, who are confronted with the practice of FGM and are currently not always equipped to deal with it. For example, women that have been mutilated can have many problems when giving birth that health professionals are not aware of. In consequence, doctors tend to do caesarean sections when it is not necessary, which has a direct impact both on the woman’s health and the state economy. The EU is in a good position to gather the best practices from Member States and contribute to the training of health care professionals.
Third, the EU should integrate FGM into its policies on violence against women/children. Fourth, the EU has a major role to play in the international protection of asylum seekers as well as in the harmonisation of national asylum systems. Gender concerns should be integrated into the whole process of seeking/granting asylum. For instance, the EASO which is currently being established should mainstream gender in its structure and its work plan. Finally, the EU should take the lead in raising the issue of FGM, including when it happens in third countries.
4. Why is the EU not taking further action to prevent FGM ?
The economic crisis appears to be a major obstacle for further action. To fight FGM, we need to invest money in prevention and protection measures. Their impact would certainly be seen in the future, but the EU is more concerned about immediate issues. At the end of the day, what matters is where the EU places its priorities, and there is clearly a lack of focus on gender specific issues. This situation has slightly changed during past years, and more specifically under the last three presidencies of the EU. Unfortunately, there is less momentum at the moment, with the Hungarian presidency, and we fear that it will continue under the next ones.
5. What does the End FGM Campaign consist on ?
The End FGM Campaign is following a human rights based approach, in the sense that we base our work on international standards and internationally agreed conventions. Our objective is to hold the EU accountable for the principles it has committed to in the Treaties and for the international standards it must comply with.
We involve people that are directly affected by FGM in the campaign, to get the voices of these people heard and bring them to the attention of the EU institutions and citizens. For this purpose, we work a lot with grassroots organizations and we support them to increase their capabilities. At the same time, we lobby the EU institutions to ensure that they adopt a clear and coherent strategy to deal with the practice of FGM.
We also launched a public action, during the 16 days of activism against gender violence, which took place in November and December 2010. By signing a rose petal, EU residents asked the EU institutions to prioritise FGM. More than 30 000 people supported the campaign by signing a rose petal during these 16 days of activism. Both the President of the European Parliament Jerzy Buzek and Vice-President signed a rose petal and even issued a statement calling on their colleagues to follow their example. Commissioner Redind has also signed up to this action and we will be holding her up to her commitments. We are pleased with the interest that the campaign generated both within the EU and national institutions and among the public at large.
6. What can the readers of The Euros do to contribute to the fight against FGM ?
First, get to know about FGM. You can check our website at www.endfgm.eu .There is also a facebook group called End FGM European Campaign that you can join to follow our campaign and to keep informed on several issues concerning FGM.
If you are a decision-maker, please ensure that the issue of FGM is given enough attention when looking at a variety of related issues such as sexual health and reproductive rights, children and women rights or foreign affairs.
More generally, please talk about FGM and raise awareness in a sensitive manner. FGM should not be seen as a barbaric practice, which justifies the stigmatisation of migrant population, but instead as a human rights violation impacting on the life of girls, women, doctors and teachers living in the EU.
Headline photo : Lucien Coman, Fotolia.com, used by End FGM
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