© Parlamentsdirektion/Bildagentur Zolles/Jacqueline Godany http://www.parlament.gv.at
„We recognize that while it may be less threatening for non-Africans to adopt other less confrontational terminology in order to enter into dialogue with communities, it is imperative that the term FGM is retained.”
“The term FGM is not judgmental. It is instead a medical term that reflects what is done to the genitalia of girls and women. It is a cultural reality. Mutilation is the removal of healthy tissue. The fact that the term makes some people uneasy is no justification for its abandonment.”
“Indeed what gives anyone but Africans the right to change a term agreed upon by the largest group of African activists on this issue in the world? This is at best paternalism and is a sad reflection of how after many years of African women working against FGM, at the time when FGM was a taboo, the campaign has been high-jacked by others who were not involved at the beginning and do not appreciate the nature of the struggle.”