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Protecting women and girls
Campaigning against female genital mutilation in Somalia
© picture-alliance
Campaigning against female genital mutilation in Somalia
Campaigning against female genital mutilation in Somalia
© picture-alliance
Female genital mutilation is one of the world’s most widespread human rights violations. The Federal Foreign Office invited representatives of NGOs to a meeting to discuss joint strategies to combat this practice and ways to help those affected by it.
For years the German Government has been strongly supporting the fight against female genital mutilation (FGM). But although the practice is now legally prohibited in many African countries, the number of women and girls affected has declined only slightly. At the 16 December meeting, Walter Lindner, the Director-General for African Affairs, expressed his profound dismay at the scale and extent of the problem of FGM, calling it one of the world’s greatest human rights violations.
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A total of roughly 150 million women and girls around the world have been affected by FGM. The practice is most prevalent in Africa, especially western and northeastern Africa.
Walter Lindner, Director-General for African Affairs
© AA
Walter Lindner, Director-General for African Affairs
Walter Lindner, Director-General for African Affairs
© AA
Representatives of the Federal Foreign Office and the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) joined representatives of various NGOs in discussing how to more effectively combat FGM.
Legislation alone is not enough
It became evident in the discussion that what is needed above all in many countries is “a shift in cultural attitudes”, given that many African countries have already passed laws prohibiting FGM. The existence of such laws, however, does not automatically ensure their enforcement.
Participants also reported that in some African countries more than 90 per cent of women continue to be affected by FGM. These countries include Somalia, Egypt, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Djibouti.
Representatives of the Federal Foreign Office, the BMZ and the NGOs agreed to better coordinate their activities in the future in order to combat FGM even more vigorously.
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The Federal Foreign Office has in the past supported various projects to combat FGM in Africa. It has, for example, promoted awareness-raising projects in Uganda, Gambia and Djibouti.
Last updated 16.12.2011