On the occasion of the release of the first ever European Commission action plan « Towards the elimination of female genital mutilation », the END FGM European Campaign shared its reaction and published an opinion piece.

Ending female genital mutilation: Will future Europe take up the mantle?
Every day 8,000 girls in the world are subjected to the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM). Entrenched in a number of African, Asian and Middle Eastern societies, this intimate act of controlling women’s and girls’ bodies is a human rights violation.
Illegal yet still practiced in number of countries, including in Europe, FGM impacts on women’s health, well being and our ability to achieve our full potential. A global movement has been launched to tackle this violation with the adoption of an UN resolution on FGM in December 2012.
Now the European Commission has added to this energy by releasing its action plan “Towards the elimination of female genital mutilation” on the International Day of Elimination of Violence against Women. The plan is definitely progressive, but how will the European institutional changes affect this momentum?

• Read the full opinion piece by END FGM Campaign Director Dr Christine Loudes on euobserver.com here: http://euobserver.com/opinion/122271
• Read the END FGM statement on the release of the EU action plan here: http://www.endfgm.eu/en/news-and-events/news/press-releases/european-commission-rises-to-challenge-to-end-female-genital-mutilation-0115/

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Source: Prerna Humpal from END FGM European Campaign