Verbatim report of proceedings

Wednesday, 12 February 2020 - Strasbourg

An EU strategy to put an end to female genital mutilation around the world (B9-0090/2020, B9-0092/2020)

  Vlad-Marius Botoş (Renew). – Madam President, human beings are not property. Children are not property. We all state very loudly and clearly that we want to make our own choices, especially when we are talking about our own bodies. Four million girls every year are in danger of having that right taken from them. Four million girls between the ages of 1 month and 15 years old are at risk of undergoing female genital mutilation (FGM) for no reason other than that the parents or the grandparents or somebody in the family considers that it is nice to do it, or it is culturally appropriate. There are no health benefits from this procedure, and there are too many health hazards involved – from infection to excessive bleeding, from physical discomfort to sterility and to child death. We cannot allow these practices to go on in Europe. We cannot allow these girls, who have become European, to be taken away in countries where the practices are still in high fashion, to be mutilated. We have to protect their human rights – and not to be mutilated is one very important right of girls, of women. If we want them to become strong, healthy members of our society, if we want them to become protectors of human rights, we have to protect them now, when they need it most. I voted for this resolution, and I think this is a big start.