The law

If you are being pressured into having your daughters cut you can say,

NO!

Because ANY form of FGM is AGAINST THE LAW.

This means that the removal of part of the clitoris or clitoral hood is also ILLEGAL.

  • It is against the law in the UK.
  • It is against universal human rights law.
  • It is against religious laws.

If you break the UK law you could go to prison for up to 14 YEARS and during this time your daughters would be without their parents.

There is no way around this law.

You will be breaking UK law even if your daughters are cut abroad, someone else cuts them, a health professional cuts them, your daughters agree to it or they carry it out on themselves.

The UK law is called The Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003. If you are too scared to say “no” to family members you can get support from agencies to help you protect your daughters. HELPLINE NUMBERS

You can obtain a small leaflet to carry with you about the UK law in various languages from the Home Office (tel: 0870 241 4680).

Or you can download the leaflet here

The human rights law is contained in the Convention on the Rights of the Child and a UN Resolution in 2012 to eliminate FGM. Africa has also declared that FGM should be eliminated in the African Charter. There are already laws against FGM in 24 African countries. Countries across the globe are taking steps to end FGM.

In Christianity, Judaism and Islam, there are clear messages about the body being created as God intended. All the major world religions emphasise the importance of girls’ and women’s rights and that you must not harm the body that you have been given.

So you know the law.

YOUR KNOWLEDGE IS YOUR POWER

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