N-VA women aim to draw attention to the issue of genital mutilation in Europe

“It is estimated that half a million women in the European Union are living with the life-long consequences of genital mutilation.” On 5 February, N-VA women Assita Kanko and Anneleen Van Bossuyt organised a hearing at the European Parliament on the occasion of the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation. They mapped out the European dimension of the problem, as well as a proposal for a European approach. Worldwide, there are an estimated 200 million women who are survivors of this type of mutilation.

We must not close our eyes

Assita Kanko, who is in second place on the European list in May, is herself a survivor of this gruesome practice. “In Belgium, 17,000 women live with the consequences of genital mutilation, and some 8,600 girls are at risk of being mutilated. It is no longer an exclusively African problem, so we Europeans must not close our eyes to it. In the coming five years, I want to make it a priority at the European Parliament.”

Prevention and control

MEP Anneleen Van Bossuyt has for many years now been monitoring the issue from the European Parliament. “Prevention is the most important step: ensuring that girls no longer fall victim to it. Over 90% of these girls are mutilated before the age of 15. Teachers, social workers, doctors, border officials and many others can play a crucial role. When young girls travel to a high-risk country of origin during the holidays, alarm bells have to go off and a conversation has to take place in good time with the family. It is often during those trips that the mutilation is done to the victims. And because mutilation is taking place increasingly often within the EU, we have to increase the checks here too in order to prevent it.”

Priority for Justice

Former Secretary of State for Equal Opportunities Zuhal Demir was also invited to the hearing. “Female genital mutilation has always been on our agenda, and we have always had a policy in place on the issue.” However, for the N-VA, that’s not enough. According to MP Demir, the stumbling block is above all to be found in enforcement and prosecution. “We know that there are practitioners of female circumcision in Brussels and Antwerp who carry out circumcisions at home. It’s just not a priority for the public prosecutor. Prevention is good and necessary, but there must also be a repressive approach from the justice system. “The Minister of Justice must make that a priority. I want to put that on the table,” says Zuhal Demir.

More resources and research

Assita Kanko advocates more resources and medical attention for victims of genital mutilation and all other patients of taboo-intimate health problems such as endometriosis, a painful and serious gynaecological condition that affects 180 million women in the world and which is the leading cause of infertility.

MEP Anneleen Van Bossuyt wants more European support for the victims and for the doctors who can improve the quality of life of these women: “I have made budgetary proposals to do more research, including medical research. As policymakers, we must not turn a blind eye. We must protect girls and women. In the EU, we have the people and resources to limit the consequences of the mutilation, so let’s use them.”