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Somalia

I welcome the opportunity to speak in this important debate, and I am pleased to follow the hon. Member for Islington North (Jeremy Corbyn). I echo the sentiment expressed in his final comments. One of the saddest pieces of casework that I have had to undertake in my short time as a Member of Parliament was to try to help a constituent to find out whether his family were dead or alive; it was extremely sad. The hon. Gentleman has also rightly urged us to dwell on the positive contribution of the Somali community in this country. I have a large Somali community in my constituency, and I strongly echo the positive comments that have been made about the contribution of such communities. Unfortunately, I must focus on a negative issue. It is in part a health issue, and it has not thus far been raised. As some Members may be aware, Monday was international day of zero tolerance to female genital mutilation. About 140 million women worldwide have undergone FGM, and it is estimated that each year a further 3 million girls in Africa are at risk of the practice. Somalia has one of the highest prevalence rates. According to a 2006 UNICEF study, as many as 98% of all Somali girls undergo it. Although there are signs of progress in some parts of the country, the vast majority of girls undergo what is a brutal practice that has no health benefits and leaves irreparable long-term damage. I particularly want to raise this topic now because Puntland will be represented at the forthcoming conference and its Government are seeking to pass legislation that would enshrine FGM in law. We must try to stop this very bad law being passed. I understand from local campaigners on the ground working against this practice that the original aim of the legislation, which is referred to as the circumcision law, was to outlaw all forms of FGM. It has since been diluted by some Puntland politicians so that it now allows for—indeed, legislates for—a less extreme, but still invasive and serious, form of this very harmful practice to girls and women. The law even offers indemnity to parents who force FGM on their daughters, and it promises that no action will be taken if the procedure goes wrong. The President of Puntland, President Farole, has yet to assent to the proposed circumcision law. I believe that he was the original proponent of the law to outlaw the practice completely. The new, changed law seeks to criminalise the worst, most severe kind of FGM—infibulation, which is sometimes known as pharaonic circumcision. However, it would also make legal type 1 FGM, which is, in effect, a clitoradectomy—I apologise for the necessarily graphic language—and which in Somali is called ““sunna””. I welcome, of course, any moves to make the most extreme forms of mutilation illegal, but to enshrine in law a measure that makes it possible to do type 1 FGM on little girls is deeply regrettable, as that would both normalise and medicalise what is a serious human rights abuse—it is recognised as such by the World Health Organisation—potentially on a massive scale. It would also undermine the efforts of DFID and local and international NGOs working in Puntland and across Somalia to eliminate this practice. Worst of all, it would undermine the astonishing and brave work of local women, in particular campaigners going from village to village to get the cutters to put down their knives and to change hearts and minds. This law must not be passed, as that would undermine all the good work that is being done. The ratification of this law would send the wrong message to the rest of Somalia and the wider region, where there are some signs of progress. It would also undermine efforts here in the UK. FGM has been illegal in the UK since 1985, and in 2003 a loophole allowing families to take girls abroad to have them cut was closed. However, there are close links between the homeland and the diaspora community, and if this law in Puntland were passed it would send a strong negative signal to women here and elsewhere in the diaspora. That, in turn, would make the job of eliminating FGM in the UK—which is, in fact, on the rise—much harder. No one should doubt that it is on the rise. Earlier this week, I spoke at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists conference specifically on this matter, so great is the problem now being presented in maternity departments and specialist units around the country. We should back the Puntland President's original opposition to all types of FGM. He issued the presidential decree in November 2011, and I hope we can support that stance. Our Government in general, and DFID in particular, have been excellent at focusing on the prevention of violence against women and girls in their international strategy. This is an uphill struggle, but it would be made much harder if this law were passed. We are a major supplier of aid to Somalia, and, like all who have spoken today, I strongly support that. DFID has placed the health, well-being and education of women at the heart of its overseas aid programme. I am pleased to say that tackling FGM is specifically mentioned as a ““gender priority”” in its strategy on Somalia. However, I fear that that aspect of its work would be hugely undermined if this proposal were adopted. I urge Ministers to use meetings at the imminent conference as opportunities to raise the issue with Somali and Puntland representatives, to put it on the agenda for discussion, and to register their concerns. Like every other Member, I want the conference to go well—that is enormously important to members of my local community—but eradicating FGM around the world and here in the UK is a tough enough task already, and it would be made more difficult if this law were ratified. I urge Ministers to put the human rights of girls and women firmly on the conference's agenda.