Dawn French demands end to female genital mutilation: It's a violation of women's rights and can be stopped

Campaigning: Dawn French wants to see FGM ended within her lifetime
PA
Anna Davis @_annadavis6 February 2018

Dawn French today issued a rallying cry to bring an end to female genital mutilation, saying it was “a matter of urgency” that action was taken.

The comedian said she had been “quietly and discreetly” supporting London charity, the Orchid Project, which is trying to stamp out the cutting of women and girls across the world.

Writing in the Evening Standard, French, 60, said it was her “quiet, profound, passion” that FGM is ended within her lifetime.

French — who refers to the practice as “cutting” rather than “mutilation” — said: “Contrary to what some people might think, I am quite a serious person, and there’s very little more serious in the world than the violation of millions of girls’ and women’s rights.”

She said: “I stand by Orchid Project in their vision of a world free from female genital cutting. I hope that in this sometimes challenging world, this ray of light can shine brightly and encourage you to stand with us and be part of ending female genital cutting.”

The Orchid Project supports an approach in which knowledge about human rights and health is shared in communities.

French said: “Communities talk together until the majority of people make a choice to stop cutting and then declare that intention, publicly, to everyone.

“This is now a matter of urgency — more and more girls are at risk of being cut over the coming years due to rising birth rates in countries where FGC is most prevalent.

“But there is an alternative vision of the future, if we act now. This is not a story of barbarism and horror, but one of hope and opportunity.”

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