You can help to end FGM in a generation, with just a minute of your time

KateMumsnet · 2014-02-05 17:30:29

Tomorrow is [[https://www.un.org/en/events/femalegenitalmutilationday/ International Day for Zero Tolerance towards Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)]] - a day to break the silence around FGM and make a statement that can’t be ignored. 125 million women and girls around the world have been subjected to this horrific form of violence, and have suffered a lifetime of damage, sometimes even death, as a consequence. 30 million girls are at risk of being cut over the next decade - 20,000 of them [[http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/female-genital-mutilation/Pages/Introduction.aspx in Britain]]. 66,000 women in the UK are already living with the consequences of FGM. There’s a growing movement calling for the eradication of this brutal practice within a single generation - but it’s a huge task, and requires everyone who cares about the issue to stand together and say ‘enough’. The Department for International Development has organised a [[ http://bit.ly/1iqheyw Thunderclap]] to help amplify the voices of those who want to end FGM. A Thunderclap is a mass Tweet or Facebook post - it’s incredibly simple to join in, and takes literally seconds. Your Tweet or post will be ‘released’ at 11.30am tomorrow, along with those of everyone else who has participated - with luck making a massive noise across social media globally. So do join in with a Twitter storm and Facebook frenzy this International Zero Tolerance Day, by sharing this statement [[ http://bit.ly/1iqheyw via Thunderclap]]: I’m calling for an end to Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting. Retweet & take a stand this Zero Tolerance Day! Together we can #endFGM If you have another moment, take another look at this recent guest post from FGM survivor, mother and [[http://www.dofeve.org/ Daughters of Eve]] activist Leyla Hussain - ’[[http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/guest_posts/a1903396-Leyla-Hussein-on-FGM-Making-sure-my-daughter-wasnt-cut-is-my-greatest-achievement Making sure my daughter wasn’t cut is my greatest achievement]]’. It’s an inevitably upsetting but incredibly powerful read - and a great reminder of the dreadful impact of FGM on women and girls in this country and around the world.