La Présidente. - Nous reprenons à présent notre débat sur la question orale de Mikael Gustafsson (O-000029/2014 - B7-0106/2014) (2014/2511(RSP)).

  Anna Maria Corazza Bildt (PPE). - Madam President, I am truly happy that today, apparently, we are joining forces across political lines, with a broad consensus on a strong call to stop the barbaric practice of genital mutilation of women and girls. I also welcome the fact that the Commission, with its communication, measures and funding, is committed to doing something about this.

The figures have already been mentioned and they are heart-breaking: millions of girls are concerned – this is about children – and it is happening in Europe. We have half a million women and girls in Europe at real risk, so we should definitely treat this practice as violence against women and as child abuse, and we should therefore criminalise it. I call on the Member States to treat genital mutilation as a crime and to step up both prevention and prosecution.

Every time we talk about this issue, the objection is raised that Europe is patronising people. We are told: ‘You are imposing your values; you are not respecting our different traditions.’ But this is totally unacceptable because, as the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, has said, we need to preserve the best in any culture and leave the harm behind. In order to leave the harm behind, we have to be strong in saying that violence is never justified by culture, tradition or religion.

We are not imposing a model: we are standing up for universal values recognised and enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, and we should all be very firm on that. It is important too that we work on changing cultural attitudes and that we support all the wonderful advocacy and awareness-raising activities for women’s empowerment which civil-society organisations are carrying out in our own countries. We also need to work more closely with professionals in various fields, such as health, education, prevention and social services, and to identify better the risk groups in order to be better able to prevent the practice.

Madam President, I have joined, and am committed to, the campaign that the Commission has launched for zero tolerance on female genital mutilation. I hope everybody else will do likewise and that we will continue to take action on this together.

  Zita Gurmai (S&D). - Madam President, despite the growing recognition of the problem from the global health community, as well as from national authorities, the figures remain staggering – both inside and outside the EU. This represents not only a blatant violation of the most fundamental rights of women and girls on multiple counts, but also a serious cause for concern regarding their health and a major barrier to women’s empowerment. The deeply rooted social traditions behind this harmful practice make it particularly difficult to address. It also calls for greater improvements in terms of education, prevention and dialogue with all stakeholders.

Several successful programmes, including those launched by the EU with UNICEF, show that a comprehensive approach, based on dialogue and backed by genuine political will, have produced encouraging results. Now is the time to step up efforts and to incorporate the elimination of female genital mutilation into a broader action plan on combating gender-based violence. In this respect, and given the lack of reliable data at EU level, I welcome the fact that the EU Institute for Gender Equality is developing resources and tools to tackle female genital mutilation. I also believe that we have to be extremely tough towards healthcare providers who engage in such practices, and that the principle of extraterritoriality applied in some Member States – which makes it possible to prosecute the practice, even when it is committed outside the countries’ borders – should be extended.

I would just like to thank Commissioner Füle for being here and for the excellent job he has done as a Commissioner. I believe that he should come back because we need an engaged guy like him.

  Sarah Ludford (ALDE). - Madam President, I am very pleased to join this cross-party debate and I am also pleased that we have abandoned the unacceptable old practice of talking about female circumcision. Female genital mutilation much better conveys the full horror of the practice – that it is child abuse, even child torture. The estimates of girls at risk in the UK range from 20 000 to 65 000. This figure comes from recent research.

65 000 girls at risk in the UK? It is completely unacceptable that this should be even remotely tolerated. The press in the UK today is reporting that prosecution is imminent in the UK. Well, we have had it criminalised for decades in Britain, but there have been no successful prosecutions. I am glad that the Crown Prosecution Service, which is actually now led by a woman, has established a network of specialised prosecutors around the country and I think they are upping their game, but it does, as others have said, rely a great deal on education and awareness.

The time is absolutely ripe for an EU-wide initiative. I am proud that a party colleague of mine in the UK, the Liberal Democrat Minister for international development, Lynne Featherstone, has committed GBP 35 million internationally to fighting FGM and has recently visited Burkina Faso.

Today at 11 a.m. UK time – midday here – there will be a Twitter thunderclap campaign to end FGM within a generation. Please join it.

  Edit Bauer (PPE). - Madam President, as this discussion is showing, we all agree that data on women and girls affected by FGM are more than shocking. It was mentioned that more than 140 million women have experienced this type of violence. The most affected countries are Egypt, Ethiopia, Somalia and Sudan, where prevalence rates can be as high as 98%. In other countries, such as Nigeria, Kenya, Togo and Senegal, the prevalence rate varies between 20% and 50%, but it is not present only in Africa. FGM takes place in parts of the Middle East too, for example in Yemen, Oman, Iraqi Kurdistan, and among some Bedouin women in Israel as well.

Statistics released recently by Unicef, analysing data from 29 countries in Africa where FGM is most prevalent, show that 18 of these countries are in West and Central Africa and that FGM affects one fifth of young girls in sub-Saharan Africa itself. Bearing in mind that FGM is mostly carried out on young girls between infancy and the age of 15, we should speak about a serious breach of children’s rights as well as equally serious violence against girls and women. As a result of immigration and refugee flows, FGM is now being practised by ethnic minority populations in other parts of the world, including the European Union. As mentioned, we have an estimated 500 000 women and girls at risk.

Ten Member States have specific criminal law provisions on FGM, but on the basis of existing criminal codes it can be prosecuted as a criminal offence in all Member States. In addition, all Member States, in the process of prosecuting FGM, have recognised the legal principle of extraterritoriality. In certain Member States, high prevalence was detected, for example in France, where the estimated number is more than 60 000, and in the UK, with more than 65 000. Although, as mentioned, there is provision for prosecution in FGM cases, in the EU this is still rare, so what we need is law enforcement.

  Iratxe García Pérez (S&D). - Señora Presidenta, la mutilación genital femenina es una forma de violencia contra las mujeres y las niñas y, por lo tanto, constituye una clara infracción de los derechos fundamentales de las personas. Era necesario que este Parlamento se pronunciara contra esta cuestión.

Hemos hablado de datos. 140 millones de niñas y mujeres en el mundo. 500 000 en Europa. Hay estudios que dicen que cerca de 17 000 niñas en mi país, en España, están en riesgo de sufrir mutilación genital femenina. Por todo esto, tenemos que acoger con satisfacción la estrategia de la Comisión Europea y entender que es necesario pasar de las meras palabras a la acción, con la necesidad de impulsar distintas estrategias de cara a favorecer la prevención y la erradicación de una forma brutal de violencia contra las mujeres.

Es necesario insistir en la importancia de la formación de los profesionales médicos y del ámbito educativo. El trabajo de cooperación entre las instituciones públicas y las organizaciones que trabajan en la sociedad civil es fundamental para conseguir el objetivo de acabar con esta práctica brutal de violencia, que no tiene cabida en el siglo XXI. Porque, si alguien pretende justificar esta práctica bajo algunas excusas, digamos muy claro que el respeto de las tradiciones y las culturas tiene, como límite infranqueable, el respeto de los derechos humanos.

  Fiona Hall (ALDE). - Madam President, I too very much welcome the initiative of my UK colleague, the UK Minister for International Development, Lynne Featherstone. She has made it a UK Government priority to end female genital mutilation in a generation, both at home and abroad.

I would urge the Commission and the External Action Service to continue to work with Member States and to commit funding to sensitive local projects. The best progress is made when projects take place on the ground in local communities, with families coming out and declaring publicly that they have abandoned the practice of female genital mutilation.

However, as well as that action on the ground, it is also important to take action at the highest diplomatic level. The EU needs to work with global partners, such as the African Union, to build a global consensus on ending female genital mutilation. The Joint Parliamentary Assembly is meeting here in Strasbourg next month: I wonder whether the Commission could tell us what special initiatives it is planning, taking the opportunity of this meeting to push effectively for joint action by Europe and Africa on the commitment to end female genital mutilation once and for all. I welcome what the Commissioner said. This is child abuse and we have to stop it.

  Barbara Matera (PPE). - Signor Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, colleghe, oggi voglio richiamare l'attenzione della Commissione europea sulla priorità della violenza contro le donne perché quando parliamo di mutilazioni genitali femminili parliamo di violenza contro le donne.

Questo Parlamento nel 2009 si è già espresso con una larga maggioranza votando una relazione d'iniziativa proprio su questo tema, ma è ancora questo tema che non occupa oggi la priorità nell'agenda dell'Unione europea. Questa è un'inazione, è uno schiaffo, un oltraggio alle donne europee, a quelle 500 mila donne del nostro continente che hanno subito questa brutale pratica, è uno schiaffo a 125 milioni di donne nel mondo e a quelle 5 bambine che ogni minuto vengono infibulate e che guardano all'Europa come a una culla dei diritti umani.

Sono orgogliosa che il mio paese abbia una legislazione avanzata con una legge approvata nel 2006 che vieta le mutilazioni genitali femminili nel nostro paese prevedendo, contestualmente, la promozione di numerose attività di contrasto e prevenzione verso questa forma di violenza inaccettabile.

Ecco colleghe, Commissario, la parola più importante, il mezzo, lo strumento più forte che noi abbiamo è la prevenzione, contrasto e prevenzione. Ancora una volta sono felice di questo: il mio paese con 4 milioni di euro – cifra non importante ma comunque è sempre un segno, un gesto importante – ha messo in pratica, attraverso il dipartimento di pari opportunità, una campagna d'informazione che si chiama "Nessuno escluso" che si rivolge proprio ai genitori immigrati, puntando proprio alla responsabilizzazione rispetto alla decisione di praticare MGF sulle proprie figlie. E ancora un numero verde che sia dedicato principalmente all'accoglienza delle segnalazioni.

E allora l'Unione europea deve puntare a misure concrete, allo scambio di buone pratiche, soprattutto a implementare e a sostenere la risoluzione dell'Assemblea generale delle Nazioni Unite proprio sulle MGF, perché questa inazione dell'Unione europea non può essere che vista soltanto come inattività rispetto a un tema a noi tutte molto caro, ma che è caro soprattutto anche agli uomini, ne sono sicura, sulla violenza contro le donne.

  Emer Costello (S&D). - Madam President, as today is International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), it is important and appropriate that we discuss it here in the European Parliament. FGM is a completely horrific practice and 140 million women have suffered globally. Two million per year are still subjected to FGM, half a million of these in the EU. In my own country, over 3 500 women have been subjected to FGM, which is – as has been said – very often carried out against children and is a form of child abuse. It leads to many serious physical, medical and indeed psychological problems.

The Commission action plan is a good start. It sets out a roadmap for dealing with this and I commend the work of organisations which campaigned for this, such as the END FGM European Campaign, which was led by Amnesty International. Most EU countries now have legislation in place to ban FGM. Ireland was one of the last countries and that was very much due to the work of a young Somali woman, Ifrah Ahmed, who has been campaigning.

While legislation is necessary, I think there does need to be an emphasis on prevention as well. We need to change mindsets, because FGM can never be justified on the grounds of culture or religion. In December 2012, the UN carried a resolution condemning the practice. These resolutions were supported by all countries in the African Union, yet rates for FGM are more than 90% in the Horn of Africa. So I am glad to hear, Commissioner, that you say that the EU will pursue this with the External Action Service. Indeed, Ifrah Ahmed will be returning to Somalia next month to actually campaign on this issue.

We need more support here in Europe as well, to support professionals, teachers and social workers. We need data collection, but most of all we need a concerted effort to support the END FGM campaign. I call on all MEPs to support the petition which is at endfgm.eu.

  Elisabeth Morin-Chartier (PPE). - Madame la Présidente, Monsieur le Commissaire, nous voilà sur un sujet dont nous ne devrions même plus avoir à parler tant il est contraire à toutes les valeurs qui fondent l'Union européenne et, particulièrement, à l'égalité des citoyens, à l'égalité entre les hommes et les femmes et à la préservation des droits des femmes, ainsi qu'à notre volonté de lutte contre les violences faites aux femmes.

Je n'ai pas entendu ce matin un discours dissonant. Nous avons les textes: la charte des droits fondamentaux et la convention d'Istanbul contre les violations faites aux femmes.

Savons-nous combien il y a, effectivement, de victimes d'excision? Combien il y a de mutilations génitales féminines? Nous ne le savons même pas exactement.

Les mutilations génitales féminines sont d'une cruauté inouïe. C'est, bien sûr, la dégradation des femmes, la dégradation des jeunes filles, la dégradation des petites filles, puisque cette pratique s'effectue souvent à un très jeune âge. Nous devons être entièrement mobilisés, dans ce sens, pour les petites filles sans défense.

Ce sont des pratiques culturelles mais, bien au-delà, ce sont des pratiques barbares. Ces mutilations sont définitives. Elles mutilent les femmes pour toute leur vie. Elles provoquent des problèmes de santé et d'hygiène, qui conduisent à la mort. Nous ne pouvons pas les admettre. Cela se passe sur notre territoire et en dehors du territoire de l'Union. Mais ce n'est pas parce que cela se passe en dehors de l'Union que nous ne sommes pas responsables. Nous sommes concernés!

Les mutilations génitales féminines sont de graves violations des droits humains, notamment des droits à la santé, à la sécurité et à l'intégrité physique, ainsi que du droit de ne pas être soumis à la torture et à un traitement cruel, inhumain ou dégradant.

La France est un des premiers pays d'asile pour les femmes victimes de mutilations génitales féminines et nous avons dû faire une loi pour protéger ces victimes.

Ce problème culturel, nous devons le prendre à bras-le-corps, avec les hommes, avec les petits garçons et au moyen de campagnes d'information, à l'intention notamment des petites filles et des jeunes femmes.

Aucune tradition ne peut être considérée comme valable à l'égard de cet acte de barbarie. C'est pour cette raison que nous devons légiférer et que je voterai aussi pour le paragraphe 4, qui nous demande d'avoir une vraie législation au niveau européen pour entraîner ce mouvement contre les mutilations génitales féminines.

  Michael Cashman (S&D). - Madam President, we stand here and congratulate ourselves that today is International Day against Female Genital Mutilation. I do not congratulate us, however. Every single day of every single year should be an international day of action against female genital mutilation. After 15 years in this Parliament, I cannot believe that we are still standing here calling for action.

I welcome the Commission’s communication involving six directorates-general, which is as it should be because we are dealing with a horizontal human rights issue. But we need an action plan and we need it before the end of this parliamentary term.

Female genital mutilation is an internationally recognised abuse of human rights, children’s rights and women’s rights. It can be addressed only if we recognise the holistic rights of women, including sexual-health and reproductive rights: the right of a woman, not a man and certainly not a cleric, to decide what to do with her body.

I have witnessed the physical effects of female genital mutilation and they are horrific. Now is the time for action: the numbers in our Member States are terrifying. And let me say this, Commissioner, because I know you listen: we have to address our friends, and those who do not want to deal with this issue, face on. There is no alternative: the practice must end. We need fewer words and more action, and therefore I urge the EU and all the Member States to sign up to the European Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women. We need that broad framework.

I hope we never have to address this issue in the next parliamentary term.

  Silvia Costa (S&D). - Signora Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, credo che siamo tutti molto convinti che la pratica delle mutilazioni genitali femminili si debba combattere su due piani. Uno è quello richiamato anche poco fa dall'onorevole Cashman e altri miei colleghi del gruppo S&D, ma per fortuna molto trasversale che c'è nella risoluzione, cioè di arrivare a una legislazione e a un'armonizzazione delle legislazioni nazionali, e la direttiva dell'Unione europea può dare più forza in questo senso, perché anche in Europa noi abbiamo legislazioni diverse, alcune sono solo a tutela dei minori su cui si pratica questa tremenda mutilazione e altre invece, come in Italia, sono molto più severe, come anche in altri paesi.

Secondo: nelle relazioni di cooperazione – questo lo accennava prima il Commissario – l'Europa deve dare segnali molto forti come alcuni paesi hanno fatto negli accordi bilaterali, perché questa campagna e la legislazione contro questa pratica siano inserite come "more for more", ecco, diciamo con questo slogan che abbiamo adottato anche nell'ambito della cooperazione con paesi in particolare dell'Africa ma non solo.

Terzo: anche nei paesi come il nostro – lo richiamava prima l'onorevole Matera – parlo del mio paese, che ha visto, che vede, una grande campagna – numero verde eccetera – si parla di 6 000 bambine al giorno che vengono sottoposte a questa pratica. Quindi c'è da fare molto in Europa, ma credo che proprio per la ragione che si diceva prima, che purtroppo ci sono comunità intere che la vivono come una iniziazione, se non si agisce sul piano culturale, sugli uomini e sulla comunità con una forma di informazione a partire anche dalle scuole, penso che l'approccio solo sanzionatorio non sia sufficiente.

  Sergio Gaetano Cofferati (S&D). - Signora Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, quella delle MGF, come è stato detto opportunamente, è una delle forme di violenza più odiose nei confronti delle donne e in particolare delle minori, dunque va contrastata con tutti gli strumenti a disposizione.

Le azioni repressive sono importanti ma non sono sufficienti. Io credo che sia molto utile, come ricordava poco fa l'onorevole Silvia Costa, agire anche sul versante culturale. Non ha nessuna giustificazione una violenza di questa natura. È un atto barbaro, odioso, nei confronti di ragazze, allora dobbiamo partire dalla scuola. L'Unione europea deve sempre, tutte le volte che definisce una politica, che riguardi lo sviluppo, che riguardi la cittadinanza, aggiungere a questa politica le sanzioni e gli stimoli culturali per quanto riguarda la diffusione dei diritti delle persone. È lì che dobbiamo intervenire.

Dobbiamo far sì che cresca la consapevolezza che siamo di fronte alla negazione di diritti fondamentali che riguardano i minori e riguardano le donne. Dunque repressione sì, ma insieme alla repressione anche grandi azioni culturali.

  Britta Thomsen (S&D). - Fru formand! Hr. kommissær! Under dække af at være en religiøs og kulturel tradition bliver omskæring stadig udført på kvinder over hele verden, også her i EU! Bare i Europa vurderes det, at en halv million kvinder lider af fysiske og psykiske men efter at være blevet udsat for kønslemlæstelse. 180.000 piger og kvinder vurderes at være i fare lige nu for at blive udsat for omskæring.

Omskæring er en af de mest grænseoverskridende former for mishandling og vold mod kvinder. Der er ingen medicinske grunde til disse kirurgiske indgreb, der fjerner store dele af kvinders kønsorganer, og ofte foregår det, som regel foregår det under kummerlige og uhygiejniske forhold og uden bedøvelse. Denne barbariske og ekstreme form for kønsdiskrimination er umenneskelig og strider imod vores grundlæggende europæiske værdier og grundlæggende menneskerettigheder. Derfor hilser jeg Kommissionens initiativer til styrkelse af indsatsen mod kvindelig omskæring meget velkommen. Det er meget vigtigt, at Kommissionen har indført en nultolerance over for omskæring, og det må håndhæves ude i medlemsstaterne!

Jeg vil benytte lejligheden til at understrege, at der er behov for en lovgivning om forebyggelse af vold mod kvinder. En lovgivning, som gælder i hele Europa, og som også indeholder kvindelig omskæring, så vi kan komme den modbydelige form for overgreb til livs.

  Andreas Mölzer (NI). - Frau Präsidentin! Mit der massenhaften Zuwanderung aus dem außereuropäischen Bereich haben wir natürlich auch Probleme wie Ehrenmorde oder Genitalverstümmelung mit importiert. Obgleich Genitalverstümmelungen seit mehr als 20 Jahren als Menschenrechtsverletzung gelten, konnten bis dato in den Ländern, in denen diese vorwiegend praktiziert werden, kaum Fortschritte erzielt werden. Eine Sensibilisierung der Angehörigen von Gesundheitsberufen, Beratungsstellen, entsprechende Ausbildung in den Bereichen Medizin, Polizei und Justiz ist sicher hilfreich.

Klar ist indessen auch, dass viele Migrantinnen während eines Besuchs in ihren jeweiligen Heimatländern beschnitten werden. Bis heute jedoch können Täter bei uns nicht vor Gericht gestellt werden, wenn die Tat in einem Land begangen wurde, in dem Genitalverstümmelung keine Straftat darstellt.

Es ist meines Erachtens wahrlich eine Schande, dass, obgleich die Opferzahl in Europa auf 500 000 geschätzt wird, es in diesem Zusammenhang bis dato nur eine Handvoll von Strafverfahren gegeben hat. Das muss dringend geändert werden.

Interventions à la demande

  Phil Prendergast (S&D). - Madam President, every eleven seconds a girl somewhere in the world has her genitals mutilated. The barbaric procedure involves the removal of parts of the outer genitals and the removal of the clitoris. The inside labia are often completely removed or partially severed using razors, shards of glass or scissors – always unsterilised and under unhygienic conditions. In 15% of cases, the large labia are also scratched out and the remaining skin is then sewn up, leaving just a tiny opening, or infibulation.

This barbaric practice has nothing to do with culture, tradition or religion; it is torture and it is a crime. Over 3 million girls are affected by what is a huge and gross torture. Having worked as a midwife, it is horrendous to try and deliver a baby to these women without doing damage to their bladders. If that baby is a girl, the look of horror for these women is enhanced many, many millions of per cent. This is such an abuse of human rights, and I welcome the fact that we have an opportunity here today to throw some light on it again.

  Phil Bennion (ALDE). - Madam President, I asked the Commission a question very similar to the one asked today after a constituent of mine from Birmingham highlighted a campaign they are running there to help put an end to female genital mutilation (FGM). I would mention too that my Liberal Democrat colleague Lynne Featherstone, in the coalition government in the UK, has made it one of her priorities to end this horrific practice.

FGM is not acceptable. It is a violation of fundamental rights and it affects thousands of women and girls living in Europe. I would like to know why the European Union is not more vocal on this issue both in Europe and with our international partners. Also, what immediate action is being taken to help Member States combat FGM, in terms, for instance, of sharing best practice for outreach to those communities where the practice is most prevalent?

(Fin des interventions à la demande)

  Štefan Füle, Member of the Commission. - Madam President, I would like to thank you for putting female genital mutilation (FGM) on the agenda today. No girl should ever have to experience this traumatic breach of her rights. I would also like to thank the Parliament and the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality for their commitment to combatting violence against women, and FGM in particular.

Every day in Europe, women are raped or beaten, or die, just because they are women. This is not acceptable and nor is the fact that millions of young women are still subjected to genital mutilation every year. They risk death, and if they survive their injury they face the prospect of disability and very risky childbirth.

The European Union will continue to campaign for the rights and empowerment of women in all contexts by fighting gender-based violence and supporting relevant initiatives against this abhorrent crime. The Commission will continue developing targeted and consistent initiatives to support Member States in achieving tangible results in eradicating all forms of violence against women – making full use of European Union competences.

As far as non-Member States are concerned, women’s and girls’ rights form an integral part of the Commission’s deliberations when it comes to assessing what type of budget support is appropriate in a third country. But it does not end with this: it does not end simply with money. Our efforts are about building global consensus. All recent European Union trade agreements have been linked to the relevant political framework agreement governing the Union’s overall relations with third countries, or incorporated into broader association agreements, and these framework or association agreements include a clause establishing respect for human rights as an essential element underpinning relations, as well as a comprehensive cooperation pillar establishing channels for dialogue on a broad range of issues.

Honourable Members, let us continue our close cooperation on this matter and let us use every opportunity to make our case. I will consult my colleague Commissioner Reding concerning all useful suggestions, including the one made by Ms Hall earlier today.

  La Présidente. - J'ai reçu, conformément à l'article 115, paragraphe 1, du règlement, une proposition de résolution.

Le débat est clos.

Le vote aura lieu jeudi, le 6 février 2014, à 12 heures.

Déclarations écrites (article 149)

  John Attard-Montalto (S&D), in writing. – Notwithstanding all the efforts to eliminate female genital mutilation, the practice is still going on. It is so ingrained in particular regions that its elimination is a real challenge. I do not think that this elimination can be effected through the passage of laws. What is involved is a mentality – a tradition, a belief – which has to be challenged through explanation and education.

  Franz Obermayr (NI), schriftlich. – Laut einer Studie des Europäischen Instituts für Geschlechtergerechtigkeit sollen europaweit über 500 000 Mädchen und Frauen Opfer brutaler Genitalverstümmelungen geworden sein, wobei die Dunkelziffer noch weit höher liegt. Die Verbreitung der Beschneidung von Frauen in Europa ist eine Folge der Massenzuwanderung; die Mehrheit stammt aus dem asiatischen und afrikanischen Raum. Trotz bestehender Verbote kommt es oft zu keiner strafrechtlichen Verfolgung oder diese verläuft im Sand. Das Problembewusstsein in der Gesellschaft muss geweckt werden, weil diese widerwärtige Praxis oft tabuisiert wird. Besonders Ärzte und Angehörige anderer Gesundheitsberufe sollten sensibilisiert werden und Verdachtsfälle anzeigen.

Wollen wir diese frauenverachtende Praxis effektiv bekämpfen, dann müssen wir uns auch damit auseinandersetzen, dass Genitalverstümmelungen gerade im islamischen Kulturkreis praktiziert werden: Obwohl der Koran Frauenbeschneidungen nicht ausdrücklich fordert, sind sie in vielen islamischen Ländern verbreitet. Auch in Europa gilt: Je höher der Anteil an muslimischen Migranten, wie etwa Großbritannien oder Frankreich, desto häufiger kommen Genitalverstümmelungen vor. Das ist die Realität, die im gegenständlichen Entschließungsantrag leider nicht einmal erwähnt wird! Wir dürfen in Europa Frauenbeschneidungen nicht unter dem Deckmantel der Toleranz und der Religionsfreiheit tolerieren! Das sind schwere Körperverletzungen, die gravierende körperliche und seelische Folgen für die Opfer haben und die nicht selten aufgrund von Infektionen mit dem Tod enden!