PAGES: 249
LANGUAGE: English
©2000
Available for $25 from St. Martin's Press in the U.S.
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'UNICEF welcomes this valuable exposition [which] contributes to a better understanding of what can and must be done to protect the rights of girls and women and end FGM.'
Carol Bellamy,
Executive
Director, UNICEF
'For all those working on the elimination of FGM, this book provides a framework and recommendations
for practical legal policy
and action.'
Nafis Sadik,
Former Executive Director,
UN Population Fund
'It is necessary to act with tact and patience, bringing communities to understand that their cultural values are not to be confused with cultural practices, and that those practices can be changed without adversely affecting values. This book will perform an educational function.'
Mary Robinson,
Former UN High
Commissioner for Human Rights
'Never before have we had such a comprehensive worldwide review of legislation addressing this harmful practice - an indispensable resource for activists, scholars and advocates interested in women's bodily integrity and human rights.'
Rosalind Petchesky,
Hunter College, City University of New York
This is the most extensive report currently available on the use of law and policy to address the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM). In encouraging a pro-active governmental response to the practice, the book places it firmly in a human rights and legal framework. The result of a major research report in 41 countries, both North and South, it covers not only the prevalence of FGM but the various laws and other measures in place to prevent it.
The book describes FGM, its history, its consequences for health and the movement now working to combat it. It then reports on each country - its prevalence and governmental measures for its eradication.
FGM is not exclusively a concern of African governments. Countries of the North have also adopted legal measures aimed at preventing the practice. These measures, however, are clearly directed at their immigrant populations. This throws up a classic dilemma of human rights work: whether or not to fight for rights that are seen as universal and fundamental - in this case the bodily integrity of women - when it means overriding the cultural beliefs of individuals, or minority groups.
Finding a solution to this problem is the second aim of this book. The authors suggest an answer through the actual implementation of human rights treaties. They look at how FGM violates these rights for women: specifically freedom from gender discrimination and violence, the right to health and the rights of children.
The last section of the book makes recommendations for action by governments, the international community, and non-governmental organizations.
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