2,600 Dutch girls at risk of genital mutilation during summer vacations
As the summer vacation period begins and families travel to countries of origin, the risk of female genital mutilation rises for an estimated 2,600 girls in the Netherlands, experts warn. The practice remains illegal in the Netherlands, even when performed abroad. Yet specialists say the government must do more to safeguard at-risk girls from communities where the practice is established, including those from Sudan, Somalia, Eritrea, Mali, and Egypt, NOS reports.
Female genital mutilation, also known as female circumcision or genital mutilation, involves the partial or total removal of external female genitalia. Type 1 involves removing all or part of the clitoris. Type 2 includes removal of the inner and sometimes outer labia. Type 3 involves stitching the labia together, leaving only a small opening for the vagina. The practice has no medical justification and is not required by any religion. It predates both Islam and Christianity and is rooted in cultural traditions.
The tradition is prevalent in several African countries, including Somalia, Sudan, Mali, Egypt, and Eritrea. Asylum applications from Somalia and Sudan have risen sharply in the past year, heightening concerns.
Researcher Annemarie Middelburg, a specialist in international law focusing on women's rights and genital mutilation, advocates for adopting elements of the British model. It entails a family court having a right to issue a protection order when there is a risk of genital mutilation. Measures can include a ban on leaving the country, seizure of the passport or a prohibition on contact with certain relatives abroad. Violating the order carries a prison sentence of up to five years.
"Evaluations in the UK show that potential perpetrators are afraid of that prison sentence and therefore do not do it," Middelburg told NOS.
Lubna Abdul, who grew up in Sudan and underwent the procedure at age 8, described how her family presented it as a celebration. "We thought that it was a girls' party," she told NOS. "We got presents and pocket money." Instead, without anesthesia, the visible part of her clitoris and her vulval lips were cut off. Her aunt held her down.
Many families reportedly believe the procedure protects virginity and improves marriage prospects. Abdul identified ignorance as the main driver. "It is purely culture. You have to participate."
Abdul, now a mother of two daughters, faced pressure from her Sudanese relatives to have her own children cut. During one family visit when her father was ill, she refused to let her daughters out of her sight. "My daughters were always with me. Also while showering, in the toilet. I was there for two weeks, but I did not let my daughters go," she said.
Middelburg told NOS such family pressure should not be underestimated. "Even families who have lived here for twenty years feel the pressure to uphold the cultural, social and gender norms that are common in their own family."
Middelburg pointed to warning signs that teachers, doctors and family friends should recognize. "If girls talk about gifts, a big party, 'becoming a woman,' then all alarm bells really should go off." She stressed the need for awareness of high-risk countries and clear protocols for action.
"There is still a lot of gain to be made, especially in that last part," Middelburg said. "We see in the Netherlands that the signals are there, but professionals simply do not know how to act."
Middelburg called for stronger government measures. "In the previous coalition agreement of Rutte IV it was already stated that the approach falls short. Now we are two summers further, in which girls have not only been at risk, but have also actually been mutilated."
