Guardian Campaign To End Female Genital Mutilation

EDM number 1059 in 2013-14, proposed by Timothy Farron on 06/02/2014.
Categorised under the topics of Children and families, Crimes of violence, Health education and preventive medicine and Human rights.

That this House notes that an estimated 660,000 women in the UK have suffered from female genital mutilation (FGM); further notes that an additional 20,000 British girls are thought to be at risk of being cut every year despite previous Government promises to stop FGM; commends the work of 17 year old student Fahma Mohamed, alongside The Guardian newspaper, to put a stop to this inhumane and unnecessary practice; further notes that Fahma's change.org petition calling on the Department for Education (DfE) to teach about FGM in schools has already collected over 22,310 signatories; welcomes the announcement on 6 February 2014 by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development and the Minister of State for the Home Office of a package of measures designed to combat this harmful practice nationally and internationally; calls on the Government, and in particular the DfE to do everything in its power to support the work of Fahma and countless others who are fighting to end the culture of secrecy and fear around the practice; and further calls for swift action on the issue before the 'cutting season' begins once more during the 2014 school summer holidays.

This motion has been signed by a total of 49 MPs.