https://sputnikglobe.com/20230215/concerns-regarding-gender-equality-hobble-finlands-fgm-ban-1107451200.html
Concerns Regarding Gender Equality Hobble Finland's FGM Ban
Concerns Regarding Gender Equality Hobble Finland's FGM Ban
Sputnik International
A ministerial working group voiced concerns that a specific ban on FGM alone would be problematic for equality reasons, as the circumcision of boys would left unlegislated against.
2023-02-15T09:06+0000
2023-02-15T09:06+0000
2023-02-15T09:07+0000
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finland
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female genital mutilation (fgm)
circumcision
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Finland's bid to outlaw female genital mutilation (FGM) has been delayed over concerns that the law doesn't include male circumcision as well.Although MPs voted to make the ban on FGM - an excruciatingly painful procedure with no health benefits - more explicit in Finnish law, a Ministry of Justice working group proposed keeping the law as it is.As of now, FGM is currently punishable under the provisions of the Criminal Code on assault. Nevertheless, human rights groups have been pushing for a more comprehensive ban as a useful tool in prevention work.A school health survey carried out by the National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) in 2019 found that about 80 girls reported having undergone FGM that year, suggesting the practice is far from having been stamped out.In the wake of a citizens' initiative demanding a specific ban on the practice of FGM in Finland, which gained much more than the 50,000 signatures needed, MPs voted by a wide margin to make a ban on FGM more explicit in Finnish law. Subsequently, the Ministry of Justice established a working group in 2021 to consider how this might be done. Notably, it was the nationalist Finns Party members who filed dissenting opinions asking for male circumcision to be included.The ministerial working group felt that changing the present legislation would create "knock-on effects" on issues such as gender equality, the status of children as well as the legal definition of mutilation. Furthermore, the group reportedly stressed that a specific law banning FGM alone would be problematic for equality reasons, as the circumcision of boys would not be legislated against.Female genital mutilation (FGM) is an insufferably painful procedure occurring in the Islamic world, including parts of the Maghreb, sub-Saharan Africa, and parts of the Middle East. The highest incidence of FGM worldwide is in Somalia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Egypt, and the Gambia.The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated the number of FGM survivors at 200 million. The incidence of FGM in Nordic countries - and Finland in particular - has increased in lockstep with mass immigration from sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East.In 2021, the National Swedish Board of Health and Welfare estimated that there are at least 38,000 genitally mutilated girls and women living in the country, warning that there was a dangerous lack of knowledge of how to deal with this issue that was unheard of in Scandinavia barely decades ago.Previously, fellow Nordic nations Iceland and Denmark discussed banning male circumcision on minors, practiced by millions of Muslims, Jews, and even members of some Christian denominations, as physically and psychologically harmful, yet reversed their decision under pressure from the US, Israel and Jewish groups from around the world.Remarkably, the present Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen made a spectacular U-turn on this issue. More than a decade ago, she claimed that religion "cannot legitimize inflicting physical defects on children". In 2020, she said that ban is not the right path to follow, as it would "endanger Denmark's Jewish community and its way of life".
https://sputnikglobe.com/20211102/at-least-38000-girls-and-women-in-sweden-are-genitally-mutilated-survey-estimates-1090405707.html
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female genital mutilation, health issues, male circumcision, equality concerns, mass immigration
female genital mutilation, health issues, male circumcision, equality concerns, mass immigration
Concerns Regarding Gender Equality Hobble Finland's FGM Ban
09:06 GMT 15.02.2023 (Updated: 09:07 GMT 15.02.2023) Female genital mutilation, virtually unknown in Scandinavia barely decades ago, has become a problem as immigration from sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East rises, raising both ethical and legal questions.
Finland's bid to outlaw female genital mutilation (FGM) has been delayed over concerns that the law doesn't include male circumcision as well.
Although MPs voted to make the ban on FGM - an excruciatingly painful procedure with no health benefits - more explicit in Finnish law, a Ministry of Justice working group proposed keeping the law as it is.
As of now, FGM is currently punishable under the provisions of the Criminal Code on assault. Nevertheless, human rights groups have been pushing for a more comprehensive ban as a useful tool in prevention work.
A school health survey carried out by the National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) in 2019 found that about 80 girls reported having undergone FGM that year, suggesting the practice is far from having been stamped out.
In the wake of a citizens' initiative demanding a specific ban on the practice of FGM in Finland, which gained much more than the 50,000 signatures needed, MPs voted by a wide margin to make a ban on FGM more explicit in Finnish law. Subsequently, the Ministry of Justice established a working group in 2021 to consider how this might be done. Notably, it was the nationalist Finns Party members who filed dissenting opinions asking for male circumcision to be included.
The ministerial working group felt that changing the present legislation would create "knock-on effects" on issues such as gender equality, the status of children as well as the legal definition of mutilation. Furthermore, the group reportedly stressed that a specific law banning FGM alone would be problematic for equality reasons, as the circumcision of boys would not be legislated against.
2 November 2021, 06:00 GMT
Female genital mutilation (FGM) is an insufferably painful procedure occurring in the Islamic world, including parts of the Maghreb, sub-Saharan Africa, and parts of the Middle East. The highest incidence of FGM worldwide is in Somalia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Egypt, and the Gambia.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated the number of FGM survivors at 200 million. The incidence of FGM in Nordic countries - and Finland in particular - has increased in lockstep with mass immigration from sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East.
In 2021, the National Swedish Board of Health and Welfare estimated that there are at least 38,000 genitally mutilated girls and women living in the country, warning that there was a dangerous lack of knowledge of how to deal with this issue that was unheard of in Scandinavia barely decades ago.
Previously, fellow Nordic nations Iceland and Denmark discussed banning male circumcision on minors, practiced by millions of Muslims, Jews, and even members of some Christian denominations, as
physically and psychologically harmful, yet
reversed their decision under pressure from the US, Israel and Jewish groups from around the world.
Remarkably, the present Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen made a spectacular U-turn on this issue. More than a decade ago, she claimed that religion "cannot legitimize inflicting physical defects on children". In 2020, she said that ban is not the right path to follow, as it would "endanger Denmark's Jewish community and its way of life".
