Synopsis:
https://www.somalispot.com/threads/fgm-down-75-on-girls-in-sl-pl.22993/
Ok guys, I'm sure some of you heard/read stories about X number of girls/women who are at risk/subjected to FGM in the UK and I was initially suspicious of the quoted figures untill i came across the above source which indicates that FGM attainment has decreased in Northern Somalia for girls under 15 as well as the numerous anecdotal views from the Somali community (and other ethnicities/communities) that this practice isn't as common as before.
Here's an excerpt from an article by Somali-British novelist, Nadifa Mohamed, that expands on my view about the figures:
"The widely quoted figure of 24,000 British girls being "at risk" would have us believe that 88% of British Somali girls are in danger. In fact, this figure originally derives from World Health Organisation and Unicef estimates, some dating back to the 1990s, from "sources of variable quality", about the prevalence of the practice in various African countries. These figures have then been extrapolated, some assuming there is the same potential prevalence among under-16 girls from those countries now living in the UK. In other words, these are crude estimates based on unreliable data – and several years out of date."
https://www.theguardian.com/comment...ition-female-genital-mutilation-fgm-prejudice
It really does tie in nicely to recent data from Northern Somalia doesn't it?
Moreover, here's another piece of evidence that links very nicely to the above points:
"The results show that 70% of Somalis in Oslo support the discontinuation of all forms of FC compared to 30% who support its continuation, with the latter group more likely to be people who lived in Norway ≤ 4 years. Of the 10 girls who came to Norway at the age of ≤ 7 years, only one was circumcised, though whether the circumcision occurred before or after the girl's arrival in Norway remains unclear."
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22925310
So FGM is declining in Somalia and the Somali diaspora are discontinuing the practice as well which is all good news, however, why do we keep on hearing/reading that over 90% of Somali women in the diaspora are victims to this practice?
The key is in the wording (women not girls) since the majority of Somali women (especially 30-40s+) were subjected to FGM back when they were kids in Somalia long before/prior to arriving in the west hence we see borderline faux-outrage articles like this:
"THE NHS has seen a shocking rise in the number of case of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in Britain - despite the practice being banned for more than 30 years.
Medical staff recorded almost 5,500 cases in 2016 alone, according to shocking new statistics."
http://www.express.co.uk/news/world...place-Britain-illegal-nhs-banned-prosecutions
The Somali population in the west is mostly young (30s or under just like in Somalia) so it's safe to assume that the majority of women/girls below their 20s were not subjected to FGM and that many of these new 'cases' as seen in the above article are in fact not new but instead are based from older mothers who were born in Somalia and are giving birth with (sadly) complications in British hospitals.
Not to put you on the spot but what do you think @dhegdheer @VixR @EternalLightX and others?
https://www.somalispot.com/threads/fgm-down-75-on-girls-in-sl-pl.22993/
Ok guys, I'm sure some of you heard/read stories about X number of girls/women who are at risk/subjected to FGM in the UK and I was initially suspicious of the quoted figures untill i came across the above source which indicates that FGM attainment has decreased in Northern Somalia for girls under 15 as well as the numerous anecdotal views from the Somali community (and other ethnicities/communities) that this practice isn't as common as before.
Here's an excerpt from an article by Somali-British novelist, Nadifa Mohamed, that expands on my view about the figures:
"The widely quoted figure of 24,000 British girls being "at risk" would have us believe that 88% of British Somali girls are in danger. In fact, this figure originally derives from World Health Organisation and Unicef estimates, some dating back to the 1990s, from "sources of variable quality", about the prevalence of the practice in various African countries. These figures have then been extrapolated, some assuming there is the same potential prevalence among under-16 girls from those countries now living in the UK. In other words, these are crude estimates based on unreliable data – and several years out of date."
https://www.theguardian.com/comment...ition-female-genital-mutilation-fgm-prejudice
It really does tie in nicely to recent data from Northern Somalia doesn't it?
Moreover, here's another piece of evidence that links very nicely to the above points:
"The results show that 70% of Somalis in Oslo support the discontinuation of all forms of FC compared to 30% who support its continuation, with the latter group more likely to be people who lived in Norway ≤ 4 years. Of the 10 girls who came to Norway at the age of ≤ 7 years, only one was circumcised, though whether the circumcision occurred before or after the girl's arrival in Norway remains unclear."
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22925310
So FGM is declining in Somalia and the Somali diaspora are discontinuing the practice as well which is all good news, however, why do we keep on hearing/reading that over 90% of Somali women in the diaspora are victims to this practice?
The key is in the wording (women not girls) since the majority of Somali women (especially 30-40s+) were subjected to FGM back when they were kids in Somalia long before/prior to arriving in the west hence we see borderline faux-outrage articles like this:
"THE NHS has seen a shocking rise in the number of case of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in Britain - despite the practice being banned for more than 30 years.
Medical staff recorded almost 5,500 cases in 2016 alone, according to shocking new statistics."
http://www.express.co.uk/news/world...place-Britain-illegal-nhs-banned-prosecutions
The Somali population in the west is mostly young (30s or under just like in Somalia) so it's safe to assume that the majority of women/girls below their 20s were not subjected to FGM and that many of these new 'cases' as seen in the above article are in fact not new but instead are based from older mothers who were born in Somalia and are giving birth with (sadly) complications in British hospitals.
Not to put you on the spot but what do you think @dhegdheer @VixR @EternalLightX and others?
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