Reply #90: They can, but we need to refine the laws. [View All]

[KitSileya]

Currently, it's difficult to prosecute once the procedure's done, because the parents have to be reported by either the girl or a close relative. While there is a law forbidding it, no one's been convicted for it in the 10 years the law's been in effect.

Teachers are authorized to call in social services if they suspect that the girl is in danger, or if they think the procedure's been done. There's also discussion whether girls should be checked as part of their annual health check - some women regard this as a violation of the girl, while others point out that the girls are checked regularly by their mothers and grandmothers after the procedure, to ensure that they haven't been 'broken'.

I am afraid that we err too much on the side of liberalism in this instance. We are too afraid of offending to protect these girls from being harmed. We wouldn't allow parents to cut off a girl's hand or foot without being thrown in jail, so why we don't have a better system to make sure they aren't mutilated in more personal places, as they do in Sweden, is a good question.