Let Us Hope This Leads To The First Of Many Prosecutions For This Vile Practice.

[ladybirder]

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/two-held-by-scotland-yard-for-fgm-on-baby-8939302.html

[ToraToraTora]

nothing surprises me from the religion of peace. Their barbarity shows no limit.

[jno]

goodness, a law being enforced? About time. Striking off the doctor (if there was one) would be good, too.

[Ric.ror]

I am not sure but I think this 'practice' is not limited to one religion

[FredPuli43]

Tora, what has religion got to do with it? It is a cultural practice of some peoples, not a religious one like circumcision is for Jews.

[baza]

about time these vile people were prosecuted.

[ToraToraTora]

I'm amazed there have been no previous prosecutions, it must be at least GBH.

[ToraToraTora]

Fred, FGM is an islamic practice primarily, we all know it, stop trying to excuse these barbarians on the basis that it may also exist in some other religions.

[andy-hughes]

Prosecution is appropriate, because the practice is illegal here, but only cultural education is ever going to prevent this practice from being passed down, as are all cultural practices.

It is times like this when I realise the cultural gulf between ourselves as Westerners, and some of our counterparts elsewhere in the world.

[Orderlimit]

Here you go TTT

http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/d_to_g/female_genital_mutilation/

[jake-the-peg]

Hmm

Kind of

It is pre-islamic and is generally only found in or near Islamic countries but many Islamic scholars speak out against it and you don't get it in some pretty hard line Islamic countries like Saudi or Iran

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Female_genital_mutilation#FGM_and_religion

So it's not a simple yes it is no it isn't islamic

[jno]

it's chiefly a North African thing rather than a Muslim thing - and not the Arabic bits of North Africa as a rule.

[AB Editor]

Here's the law bit:

Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003

The Act was brought into force on 3 March 2004 by the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003 (Commencement) Order 2004. The provisions of the Act only apply to offences committed on or after the date of commencement. For offences committed before 3 March 2004 the Prohibition of Female Circumcision 1985, as re-enacted in the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003, continues to apply.

The Act affirms that it is illegal for FGM to be performed, and that it is also an offence for UK nationals or permanent UK residents to carry out, or aid, abet, counsel or procure the carrying out of FGM abroad on a UK national or permanent UK resident, even in countries where the practice is legal.

.... So even if someone was taken broad for this purpose the perpetrator could be taken to court etc. Seems fairly robust to me.

Speaking of ritual genital mutilation:

Shorts: Cut and Run by Radiolab on Mixcloud

Sorry, I hit "make best answer" by mistake there. Please select a different one is Andy's doesn't suit!

[FredPuli43]

No, Tora. There is a difference between a practice being part of Islam and a practice of people, many of whom are Muslim. If you can point to any text in the Koran or a writing binding on Muslims,that says it is religious obligation, please do. You'll be telling us next that, because the great majority of burglars are Christians, Christianity and the Bible say burglary is part of Christianity.

[ToraToraTora]

please fred think it throug! very little of what Islam does is specified in the Koran!

[youngmafbog]

Are the great majority of burglars Christians,?

Blimey, that is surprising, I certainly was not aware of that fact.

Whoever it is we should clamp down. It is yet another import due to the great Blair/Brown multicultural experiment. Of course they would accuse us of being racist for discussing it.

//it's chiefly a North African thing rather than a Muslim thing//

Islam is a religion, it is not restricted to any country or continent. And there are plenty of Muslims throughout Africa.

[ladybirder]

This is a C&P from a UNICEF 2013 document showing some, to me, shocking and indeed sickening figures of the percentage of babies/children affected.

"The countries where it is concentrated and the percentage of women affected:
Somalia (98 percent), Guinea (96 percent), Djibouti (93 percent), Egypt (91 percent), Eritrea (89 percent), Mali (89 percent), Sierra Leone (88 percent), Sudan (88 percent), Gambia (76 percent), Burkina Faso (76 percent), Ethiopia (74 percent), Mauritania (69 percent), Liberia (66 percent), Guinea-Bissau (50 percent), Chad (44 percent), Côte d'Ivoire (38 percent), Kenya (27 percent), Nigeria (27 percent), Senegal (26 percent), Central African Republic (24 percent), Yemen (23 percent), United Republic of Tanzania (15 percent), Benin (13 percent), Iraq (8 percent), Ghana (4 percent), Togo (4 percent), Niger (2 percent), Cameroon (1 percent), and Uganda (1 percent).

It also seems to be supported by some Coptic Christians in Sudan.

[boxtops]

Poor baby.......... that's vile, especially at that age.

[Hypognosis]

There was a 30 minute piece on the 24 hour news (BBC) about this, just the other week.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/n13xtmdj/broadcasts/2013/10

No medical staff involved, for the most part. In one case, it's the girl's own aunt who drops in to do the cutting.

Watch it while you can (25-30mins). The way they talk about it and rationalise it may surprise you.

I can sum up the reasoning in fewer words than are in this sentence but I don't want to spoilerise it for anyone.

[ladybirder]

Won't work, what do I need to do?

Had to smile, it says underneath, You might also like .........Fred Dibnah's World of Steam ?????? What the ...

[mushroom25]

//Let Us Hope This Leads To The First Of Many Prosecutions For This Vile Practice.//

indeed. but sadly you can almost predict the script of Alison Saunders' statement:- "not in the public interest, cultural sensitivity, etc etc....."