Genital Mutilation: Campaigners in Rome to Denounce Practice
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Source: http://www.unfoundation.org/unwire/unwire.cfm#2
African and European activists met in Rome yesterday to confer on
ways to combat female genital mutilation (FGM).
Campaigners say FGM is a barbaric practice born out of ignorance and
that girls who undergo the ritual suffer from psychological and
physical damage. According to former European Union Commissioner Emma
Bonino, FGM "mutilates the mind as well as the body" (SAPA/South Af-
rica Independent Online, 6 Mar).
Italian Prime Minister Giuliano Amato told conference participants
the practice infringes on basic human rights, which "cannot be im-
posed from above but which must mature in the conscience of those who
lack them." Regarding the practice of infibulation -- a form of fe-
male genital mutilation -- Giuliano said "no political correctness
can convince me that such a violation is acceptable." He added that a
"major shake-up" is needed to improve the rights of women in African
countries, and that China and India also need to make better efforts.
"African women have the right to regain control over their [bodies]
and sexuality," said Daniela Colombo of Italian nongovernmental or-
ganization AIDOS (Agence France-Presse/Johannesburg Mail & Guardian,
7 Mar).
The conference is backed by AIDOS, Bonino and Nobel Prize winner Rita
Levi Montalcini.
FGM is widely practiced in northern and eastern Africa, as well as
among some African communities in Western countries. Anti-FGM cam-
paigners say the practice violates human rights (SAPA/South Africa
Independent Online).
"African women think that suffering is a way of life," said Khadidja
Sidibe Aoudou, president of Mali's Association Malienne pour le Suivi
et l'Orientation des Pratiques Traditionnelles (AMSOPT). "Women are
made to believe that an uncut clitoris can cause impotence in men and
the death of their children, and that female circumcision allows
women to be accepted in their communities," she added"
(AFP/Johannesburg Mail & Guardian).
The conference is calling for the practice to be banned worldwide.
The World Health Organization estimates 120 million women have under-
gone FGM. In Somalia, more than 90% of women are affected, according
to French anti-FGM campaigners (SAPA/South Africa Independent
Online).
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