human rights
Touré: Recognize genital mutilation as a reason for asylum
Aminata Touré (Greens), Minister of Integration of Schleswig-Holstein. photo
© Marcus Brandt/dpa
For many women and girls who have fled, the topic is very shameful, says the minister from Schleswig-Holstein. The responsible authorities must therefore also raise awareness.
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 Green politician in the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung”.
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.