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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Charlotte Proudman

To end FGM, the UK must protect girls everywhere, not just in this country

UK Border Force officer seen from behind
A UK Border Force officer at Heathrow airport. Families in the UK continue to evade the law with many girls taken abroad to be cut during the school holidays. Photograph: Daniel Leal/AFP/Getty

‘But why should we care about a practice that is being performed overseas?” It was a blunt question put to me by an audience member at a conference on female genital mutilation. Should we care because of a commitment to human rights? Our collective duty to prevent suffering? We have a moral obligation to end the practice in Britain and also to focus efforts on eliminating it globally.

After spending many years researching FGM, I have spoken to women who vehemently support it and those that actively resist it. If we are going to end FGM, it is important that we hear all women’s voices, however uncomfortable that may make us.

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