Mild Female Genital Mutilation

Plain and simple.

FGM is by law illegal in the UK. It is also illegal to take abroad any British National or Permanent Resident of the UK. It is also illegal to help someone trying to do this. You can serve up to 14 years in prison for carrying bout FGM or aiding and abetting.

Our government of any colour should start to enact our law. The only reason this has never been achieved is concern for political correctness, fear of race relation problems with those who practice such a vile cultural practice.

If you want to argue the latter point please tell me why there has not been any prosecutions. It is an insult to our intelligence to say the authorities, schools, doctors don,'t have knowledge of it happening. We all know it happens but whilst we twitter on about it thousands of young girls will be subjected to physical abuse and the UK authorities continuing to turn a blind eye is seen as sanctifying the cultural practice by those who choose to practice FGM.

The weakness shown over this subject to be honest makes me ashamed of how far the UK has lost it's moral compass because of the concern for multiracial harmony. There are times when enough is enough and the poor girls need protection . It is severe physical abuse hiding behind the banner of culturalism but has no place in the United Kingdom. IMHO

Terribull, I agree with every word you have said and have thought the same for years. To me it is the ultimate beam in one's own eye that those on the left have spouted feminism but appeased misogynistic cultures to the degree that women, girls and babies are actually tortured and made to live like slaves.

"I think there would be an outcry denouncing such proposals as racist and/or against human rights"
Exactly, and look where that's got us. Think Rochdale, Rotherham, Oxford.
And please don't drag out the old chestnut that white men commit rape, it doesn't wash any more. People know what's going on.

I'm not at all sure that this country (and I mean whatever government is in power) would have the appetite for forcing young girls to be medically examined.

Would it be all female children, or just those whose culture advocates FGM?

I think there'd be an outcry denouncing any such proposal as racist, and/or 'against human rights'.

Craftycat at 09.20 is spot on. We need to have inspections of girls at certain ages and most definitely when they return from 'holidays' and prosecutions and tough penalties must be imposed when FGM has taken place on medical evidence alone.
The people need to push the politicians on this because they are clearly not serious about stopping FGM. This is not some small thing on which to be lax because it can be life threatening, health damaging and psychologically damaging to girls and women.

"Force parents to go on courses about the problems caused by this practice"
Would that be the same type of course that told young middle Eastern/ North African men that it's wrong to rape, and then they go on to commit these heinous crimes.

I quite agree

DD1 did her Masters thesis on FGM
Dd2 is a midwife
Both say any form of FGM iscan abhorrrence which should not bebtolerated
There are lots of once culturally normal practices which are no longer 'accepted'Why should this one be any different
Havent rft
I believe the most effective ways of stopping involve getting young men 'on side'

"I don't see misogyny has anything to do with it" I beg to differ Nelliemoser, this practice is to deny women sexual pleasure in case that turns them into wanton beings, and they suffer a life time of pain and complications as a consequence, whist there is a collusion by other women, it's nevertheless one of the many indignities inflicted by possibly the most patriarchal of all the religions. Certain sectors of male Arabic society is ridden with misogyny, the news is full of varying examples, and we should be very concerned that certain behaviours are now playing out in the west, whilst our governments keel over and let these things happen.

Don't know where the 'on' came from. Ignore, please

I'm with M0nica, Liaise and Petra on this. Our country, our rules. If people don't like it, they should remove themselves to a country which better suits their beliefs and customs. We should banish on these abhorrent practices, wherever they're from. These are not customs we should subscribe to or condone.

Galen, I did listen to the radio play, I didn't want to, but I did. Horrendous, but what can we do when the law says one thing and then don't prosecute the people involved. Truly evil, and the women are complicit in this. How on earth someone decided that this was the thing to do we'll never know, but whereas we can change, they will not. Things evolve but their religion or ideas are stuck fast and can't be budged. I am truly concerned that the muslim religion has got quite a foot-hold in this country and we are just closing our eyes to it.

Petra is right in what she says. These people should live by our rules or return to where they came from. It is a barbaric custom. This is Britain for goodness sake. What depths do we have to sink to before we see sense and crack down on this and other nonsense going on around us.

The problem getting prosecutions for this vile procedure is that the girls have to give evidence against their parents. Leaving aside the obvious mental conflict they would then be totally ostracized by their entire community. I feel the practice in France of examining girls during Medicals the only way. If parents know it will be found out & they WILL be prosecuted maybe They will think again. It is unbelievable that this is happening inUK in 2016. All women should be creating merry hell until It is totally wiped out & new migrants should be aware that it will NOT happen here.Any girl going 'home for a holiday' should be examined before she goes & parents advised she will be examined on return & proscecutions will result. We have to get tough & do it now.

Patriarchal societies often seem to have developed an "honour" culture to a greater or lesser extent. This often involves male honour getting tied up with female chastity (so you know who the father is???) i.e. controlling female sexuality. White UK culture not immune to this with kids getting into knife fights over "lack of respect" and children in school yards insulting each other by making adverse comments on mother's or sister's morality.
It demonstrates the power of group conformity/ social norms/ society / culture - whatever you want to call it, over human behaviour. It is very difficult for women in powerful and long established honour cultures to question the status quo because they have so little power.

In this country FGM, honour killings and all the rest are abhorrent and considered crimes. People from any culture or none coming to this country should understand this and obey our laws if they want to live here.

The countries that many of these people come from have strict cultural laws that women from other countries, including Britain,are expected to obey when they are there. Saudi Arabia is on obvious example.

Obviously there will always be a bit of give and take, we recognise the differences in people's attitudes and beliefs. Arranged marriages are rare among western Europeans, more common in Asian cultures, and providing the marriage is voluntary and not forced nobody will object.

But there are limits and where a cultural practice involves gross mutilation that may cause someone to have serious medical problems for the rest of their lives then we have every right to say no and prosecute anyone who enables it to happen. If it means that parents have to be prosecuted and imprisoned then that should happen. A few cases where parents are imprisoned will make it clear that when the UK says this practise is abhorrent they mean it and that the law banning it has teeth.

But what could the UK do about this, you could examine all girls coming back from areas where this is practiced but what sanctions do you put on these parents? There is a problem with prosecution, imprison the parents and have children needing to go into care?

However misguided these parents are about FGM, they probably still think they are doing their best for their children.

In places where family honour and tradition might come in, girls who report this might end up by being thought to have brought shame on their families and being ostracised or punished for that.

I dont see that misogyny has anything to do with this, it's more about ignorance, superstion and long held cultural practices. Boys get this with circumcision.

What is needed is much better enforced education everywhere about the rights of woman and the dangers of this dreadful practice. Force parents to go on courses about the problems caused by this practice. This issue needs handling with sensitivity or the situation will not improve.

To cause even more family difficulties for these young women could be even more damaging to them.

margrete I agree. It's totally wrong of Richard Dawkins to imply that feminism in some way condones, on the grounds of ethnic sensitivities, any form of genital mutilation. There are always extreme people with extreme ideas but my feeling is that that the vast majority of feminists would make no allowances whatsoever for FGM.

NanaandGrampy I think the article that Ana provided shows that the CPS made a huge error of judgment in pursuing this doctor. He had not been made aware that the woman in labour had been subject to FGM. In an emergency situation, he had to cut the woman in order to enable her baby to be born. She was bleeding profusely and he inserted a 1.5 cm. stitch to staunch the flow, which the CPS chose to interpret as "repairing" the FGM. The jury took only 30 minutes to give a not guilty verdict.

It's a very difficult crime to prosecute. You have to identify who has been mutilated and presumably who authorised it and, then, who carried it out. In France there are more prosecutions because it is, I believe, the law that up until the age of 6 all girls must be medically examined to check that they have not been genitally mutilated. Perhaps that's one way of trying to wipe this practice out but I'm not sure if it's the right way.

A strange case to bring when there was the possibility of a defence of having acted in the best interests of the patient; and there seems to be no suggestion that FGM occurred at the time of the delivery. A bit puzzling.

It seems impossible that no other cases have been brought.

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/fgm-trial-cps-accused-of-show-trial-as-uks-first-female-genital-mutilation-case-collapses-10024487.html

I read this report (and similar in other newspapers) at the time.

It seems to have very little to do with the real physical abuse that's being inflicted on girls/young women by the practice of FGM.

I don't understand how the one case I read about failed for lack of evidence. They had the doctor , they had the girl....what am I missing here ?

I disagree with Richard Dawkins. I am a feminist and I am totally opposed to this practice.

NanaandGrampy. Thanks for that. So, one unsuccessful prosecution.
The powers that be are really taking this seriously aren't they?

that by the way was just the facts = not intended as a comment from me .

I find it an abhorrent practice and in the UK it IS illegal. That should be enough to stop it.

Petra you mentioned there had been no prosecutions.

This is the current number :-

FGM cases in England and Wales

One prosecution - two defendants found not guilty

Three cases currently with CPS for consideration

Aware of four other cases under investigation but not yet passed to the CPS for consideration

Eleven cases in which the CPS have decided there could be no further action and no prosecution

One case in which police decided there could be no further action

Source: CPS