The Schleswig-Holstein Minister for Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, Aminata Touré (Greens), calls for the unrestricted recognition of female genital mutilation as a reason for asylum in Germany. If the federal government wants to implement the Istanbul Convention without reservation, this means “that the rights of refugee women and girls must now also be given greater consideration and gender-specific violence must be recognized as a reason for asylum,” said the Greens politician New Osnabrück newspaper.
In addition, women and girls should be better informed about their rights. “The fact alone that many of those affected do not know exactly what their rights are or do not dare to address the issue openly can reduce their chances in the asylum procedure,” said Touré. Therefore, employees of the Federal Office for Migration should be specially trained in order to be able to respond sensitively to the situation of women.
The women’s rights organization Terre des Femmes estimated last year that almost 104,000 girls and women in Germany are affected by female genital mutilation. 17,200 girls are at risk. This is an estimate of the number of unreported cases, as many of those affected do not talk about what they have experienced out of shock or fear. Terre des Femmes assumes that 200 million girls and women are affected worldwide. The estimate is consistent with that of the World Health Organization (WHO).
The WHO defines as female genital mutilation all interventions in which the external female genitals are partially or completely removed as well as other medically unjustified injuries to the female genitals. The interventions have no medical advantages for the affected girls and women. They can have heavy bleeding, urinary problems, later cysts, infections, as well as complications at birth and an increased risk of neonatal deaths.
Genital mutilation occurs primarily in African countries, the Middle East and Asia. Most circumcisions are performed on young girls before the age of 15.