Legal report on female genital mutilation is out

In the backdrop of Union Cabinet Minister for Women & Child Development Maneka Gandhi lending her support to the cause of eliminating female genital mutilation (FGM), lawyers and activists have compiled a legal report to highlight the need for scrapping the practice.

Speak Out On FGM, a group of FGM survivors, and Lawyers Collective, a human rights NGO, have published a 57-page report, titled Female Genital Mutilation - A Guide to Eliminating the Practice of FGM in India, which was made public this afternoon.

"The recent case in the US, in which three members of the Dawoodi Bohra community were hauled up for performing FGM on multiple girls, has hit home the point that the khatna is still practised secretly," said Speak out on FGM founder Masooma Ranalvi.

"A law against the practice of FGM will serve as a strong deterrent in the otherwise law abiding Bohra community. Through this report, we present a road map of what exactly are the steps we can take to effectively curb and eliminate FGM in India."

Senior advocate at the Supreme Court and Lawyer's Collective founder, Indira Jaising, said, "Every act or practice must stand the scrutiny of the Constitution of India and we demonstrate it to be non-discriminatory. FGM is not only illegal, as this report explains, but also unconstitutional, as it disproportionally impacts the girl child. It is also prohibited by International conventions that India has signed."