FGM in UK: Government imposes new tougher deadline of 2030 to end practice as 24,000 girls remain at risk

International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt has brought forward the Government's deadline for ending FGM
AFP/Getty Images
Anna Davis @_annadavis6 February 2018
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A stricter time limit on ending female genital mutilation will be imposed by the Government as it increases its commitment to stamping out the practice, it revealed today.

FGM must be stopped by 2030, International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt pledged. Previously the Government’s ambition was to end it “in a generation”.

Her announcement comes on the International Day of Zero Tolerance for FGM, and she called on everyone to get behind the new timetable.

She said she wants other countries to follow the UK’s lead and support the cause, adding: “Together, we have already broken the silence. By 2030 we can and we will end the practice of FGM, but only if we work together.”

Ms Mordaunt added that FGM was not just a problem overseas, but in London as well. Latest NHS figures show that in the UK 5,391 women were treated in relation to FGM last year. Almost half of those were in London.

Ms Mordaunt told the Standard that the Department for International Development “is today upping its ambition. Previously, we committed to ending FGM in a generation. Today we are calling on everyone to get behind the global ambition to end FGM by 2030.

“We are also, working together with organisations such as [the London charity] Orchid Project, calling on other countries to follow the UK’s lead and support the cause.”

Ms Mordaunt added: “Today, over 30 years after the practice was made illegal in the UK, not a single conviction for FGM has been made. We need to do better.

“While most of these are historic cases where the women were not cut in the UK, today an estimated 24,000 girls are at risk in the UK.

“Only by ending the practice globally, with UK aid invested in the right places, will we eliminate the risk to girls in our country.”

Across the world the rate of FGM is in decline. Ms Mordaunt pointed to the story of a 77-year-old former cutter in Uganda as evidence that change is happening. The woman, known as Turutea, was the most renowned cutter in her village, and previously believed she was keeping her culture alive by performing FGM. She now believes FGM is an extreme violation of girls’ rights and must be ended.

Ms Mordaunt said: “No girl, no matter where she lives in the world, should have to suffer such an ordeal. In countries such as Somalia, Guinea and Djibouti as many as nine out of 10 women have undergone FGM.

“Change is already happening in Africa, in countries such as Kenya and Burkina Faso, change led by women such as Turutea.

“As International Development Secretary, I am committed to working with governments and campaigners where FGM is prevalent, to eliminate the practice, to support the women and girls, challenging attitudes and practices to build a safer, healthier and more prosperous world.”

Ms Mordaunt commended the Standard for campaigning on the issue, saying that this newspaper and other campaigners “should be praised too for their role in helping to end the practice”.

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