Ugandan women civil organizations and politicians want the banning of
female genital mutilation (FGM) to be effected worldwide.
Uganda recently passed a law in parliament banning FGM. Those found
praticing it are liable to be imprisoned for not less that 5 years.
During an interview with the press Tuesday in Kampala, one of the female
leaders in Uganda, Brenda Nakato Okello said that after having succeeded in banning the act in Uganda they want to seek the safety of fellow women from other parts of the world where Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is still practiced.
“It is good that after our struggle FGM was banned in Uganda. But we can not leave our fellow women [in areas] where it is still practiced to continue suffering. We want FGM to be banned globally by UN,” Nakato said.
The women are not alone. Female Members of parliament in Uganda have
requested United Nations member states to support banning FGM at the UN general assembly to be held in September 2010.
The spokesperson of Uganda’s ruling political party, National Resistance Movement party, Mary Karoro Okurut said that in this modern world it is a shame that female genital mutilation still takes place in some countries. She said the exercise should be banned globally because it violates women’s rights.
Okurut said “FGM should be banned internationally. It denies women their rights. They are harassed. Some develop health complications. We believe and advocate that it should be banned globally.”
According the National Resistance Movement party spokesperson FGM is practiced in more than 25 countries worldwide, and Ugandan women want to lead the struggle to see it banned globally.
