Women’s Rights
Today is the 100th anniversary of women being granted the vote in the UK. In the past 100 years great strides have been made in women’s rights. And yet the reality is that both in the UK and across the world, women continue to experience inequality, discrimination, disenfranchisement and abuse. This is particularly prominent in the practice of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) – a cruel and abusive practice that leaves millions of girls and women scarred for life, both physically and emotionally.
The UN estimates that globally at least 200 million girls and women have undergone FGM, with rates as high as 97-98 percent in Guinea and Somalia. Most of those subjected to FGM are infants and young girls, who cannot possibly understand the awful trauma they are subjected to.
#EndFGM
The Sustainable Development Goals have called for an end to the practice by 2030. Tuesday 6th February is International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation.
http://www.un.org/en/events/femalegenitalmutilationday/
We, in BASPCAN, are doing what we can to support national and international efforts to end FGM.
One of the keynote speakers at the BASPCAN international child protection congress, Elaine Storkey, has long campaigned for an end to FGM, addresses it in her book, Scars Across Humanity, and will be speaking on the topic as part of her closing keynote speech.
“Power, ideology and children at risk. How can we work together across cultural and faith divides to bring change?”
Children, especially girls, are at risk in cultures across the globe. In India, campaigners suggest that the population has lost 50 million girls over the last few decades, through infanticide and foeticide. Because of a marked preference for sons, the ratio of girls to boys in the population is also decreasing, rather than increasing, with affluence. In other countries, girls are subject to brutal female genital mutilation which leaves them with health problems for the rest of their lives. In the UK, 140,000 women currently live with its aftermath, and 10,000 girls this year may be in danger of being cut. Early enforced marriage, ‘honour’ attacks and trafficking for sexual exploitation all add to the list of atrocities which spell danger for young female populations.
This keynote suggests that behind these practices is not simply ‘culture’ but power, money, organized crime and lack of legal protection. Safeguarding is a global issue which needs to cross many boundaries. Progress is made when organisations and campaigners can work together, despite often deep-seated differences to address attitudes and develop strategies for change. We will explore how.
The issues faced in providing services locally for women and girls who may have undergone or be at risk of FGM are also the topic of a symposium by Dr Deborah Hodes and colleagues from University College London Hospitals.
Look out also for an interactive poster from Rasul Alis on ‘Why haven’t there been any prosecutions for FGM?’
The full congress programme, further information and registration details are available on our congress website:
https://www.baspcan.org.uk/congress-2018/