A major inquiry has been launched into female genital mutilation to ‘get to the truth’ about why no-one has been convicted three decades after it was made illegal.
Parliament’s powerful Home Affairs Select Committee is to challenge ministers and the police over why charges have never been brought against ‘cutters’ or families who arrange the surgery.
Prosecutors claim they are close to bringing the first FGM court case since the law was changed in 1985.
NHS staff, teachers and social workers will also be grilled in Parliament about what more they could do to curb the practice.
Committee chairman Keith Vaz said: ‘It is astonishing that since FGM was made a crime in 1985 nobody has been prosecuted.
‘This is a concern both to the diaspora communities and also the NHS and it is important that light is cast on this practice and action is taken,’ he told the Evening Standard.
‘That is why this committee is launching an inquiry into FGM. We are keen to hear from any victims and those who have been affected by this practice.’
‘I am keen to hear from people about their experiences and the committee is prepared to take evidence from anyone so that we can get to the truth.’
The committee’s call for evidence will ask for information about how widespread FGM is and what more could be done to stop it.
Last month FGM campaigner Leyla Hussein was left in tears after an experiment intended to assess the impact of political correctness on the fight against cutting saw 19 people sign a fake pro-FGM petition within 30 minutes.
The 32-year-old, who suffered female genital mutilation as a child, approached shoppers in Northampton with the petition, which argued that as FGM was part of her culture, it should be protected.
During the 30-minute experiment, 19 people signed the petition and just one refused - a result Hussein blamed on the all-pervading culture of political correctness.
Also known as female circumcision or simply as 'cutting', female genital mutilation involves removing all or part of the clitoris, the surrounding labia (the outer part of the vagina) and sometimes the sewing up of the vagina, leaving only a small opening for urine and menstrual blood.
Leyla Hussein uffered female genital mutilation as a child and now campaigns against it
Miss Hussein approached shoppers in Northampton with a petition in favour of FGM and was shocked to find 19 people signed it
The barbaric tradition has no medical benefits, and is carried out for cultural reasons, often because it demonstrates a girl's virginity on her wedding night.
In cultures where mutilation is common, 'uncut' girls are considered more likely to be promiscuous, unhygienic, and prone to diseases such as HIV/Aids.
Families often club together to fly professional 'cutters' to the UK from Africa, after which they perform mutilations on pre-pubescent girls for as little as £40, often without anaesthetic, using blunt knives, razor blades or scalpels.
It is estimated that as many as 66,000 women in the UK have suffered FGM with 24,000 girls under 11 also at risk.
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