UN urges ban on genital mutilation, forced marriage

United Nations, Mar 10: A UN women's forum urged the world today to ban female genital mutilation and forced marriages.

The Commission on the Status of Women passed by consensus two resolutions on the the issues following two weeks of debate on ending violence and discrimination against girls. Some 6,000 women from governments and grass roots groups attended the conference.

The South African-drafted resolution on circumcision ''urges states to take all necessary measures to protect girls and women from female genital mutilation, including by enacting and enforcing legislation to prohibit this form of violence and to end impunity.'' An estimated 120 million to 140 million women and girls worldwide are estimated to have suffered genital mutilation, also known female circumcision, with UN agencies estimating that another 3 million a year are subjected to the practice.

The practice usually involves cutting off the clitoris and other parts of the female genitalia. There are degrees of severity and many of the practitioners are untrained and use crude instruments.

It is a custom traditionally believed to bestow status and honor, but it can disfigure, cause psychological damage and sometimes kill.

Genital mutilation predominantly occurs in 28 African countries, including Sudan, Chad, Sierra Leone and Djibouti, but it also takes place in some Middle Eastern nations, like Saudi Arabia, among immigrant communities in Europe and North America, and parts of Asia, including Indonesia.

''Violence against women and girls in all its forms, including harmful traditional or customary practices, specifically female genital mutilation, not only constitutes serious threats to health, but are also grave violations of the dignity of women and girls and of their human rights,'' Rev. Robert Myer, a Vatican spokesman, told the conference.

Ban On These Practices 'Essential'

''While eliminating these practices will not be easy given their deeply embedded roots their elimination is essential for the full awareness of the inherent values, dignity and worth of women and girls,'' he said.

The resolution adopted by the women's conference on forced marriage ''urges states to enact and strictly enforce laws to ensure that marriage is entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses.'' The United States initially drafted the resolution, but withdrew sponsorship after an amendment by Germany that reaffirmed the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The United States is not a party to either conventions, but still welcomed the passing of the resolution.

''Forced marriage of the girl child is a form of discrimination and violence that has negative consequences in terms of health, education, economic opportunities and subjection to violence,'' US representative Patricia Prister said.

''It robs girls of choice about their futures in so many ways it perpetuates rigid second-class citizenship for females,'' she said.

India last year toughened its laws on the forced marriage of children a centuries-old tradition with government studies showing 65 per cent of girls are married before the legal age of 18.

Pakistan's ruling party introduced a bill last month aimed at outlawing forced marriages, but enforcement has proved difficult.

Iran is also not a party to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and told the conference it could not support the reference to it in the resolution.

Reuters