The Star’s view
Canada is behind other countries when it comes to fighting FGM. We must do more,
Re ‘I just remember screaming,’ July 16
It is urgent that we take the very real threat of female genital mutilation (FGM) for thousands of Canadian girls seriously and help the survivors living here.
It is unfathomable that the Canadian government, unlike most of our Western counterparts, has done virtually nothing to tackle this issue despite knowing that thousands of girls could be at risk. How far would any of us go to protect our own vulnerable girls? And why is it we are not stepping up to protect other people’s daughters, other vulnerable Canadian children from harm? Why is it that there is no information, special help line or support for Canadian girls who are survivors, who are at risk of the lifetime of physical pain and emotional trauma that often follows FGM? Why are there no protocols to prevent vacation cutting? Why are there absolutely no Canadian statistics to help inform the size of the problem?
Is it that we just don’t care because these Canadian girls are people of colour or Black, or are we too cowardly to take on the issue of female genital mutilation because other cultures are involved? If indeed we are tiptoeing around the cultural sensitivities of the adults, then we are doing so at the heartbreaking expense of the fundamental human rights of these vulnerable Canadian girls, children who have no voice but who have every right to expect their government and civil society to protect them from harm. This is not about religion, this is about human rights, plain and simple.
It is time for our government to step up. It is time for each and every one of us to stand up and to speak up for the fundamental human rights of these Canadian girls.
It is time to end the silence. Giselle Portenier, human rights journalist and filmmaker, Vancouver