On Friday, 3 February 2023, the College of the Mayor and Aldermen of the City of Luxembourg officially opened an educational exhibition on female genital mutilation (FGM) at the Bierger-Center. In attendance was Magali Getrey, the Managing Director and founder of the NGO, PADEM (Programmes d'Aide et de Développement destinés aux Enfants du Monde). This exhibition, entitled "L'excision est une réalité, au Sénégal comme au Luxembourg" (Female Genital Mutilation: A Reality in both Senegal and Luxembourg), coincides with the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation, which has been marked every year on 6 February since the United Nations General Assembly instituted it with the goal of intensifying global action to eradicate this practice.
The City's Service Égalité des chances (Gender Equality Officers) teamed up with PADEM to organise this educational exhibition, which features informational panels and photos with testimonials. Working with its local partner, Jeunesse Et Développement (JED), PADEM is currently leading a project to combat female genital mutilation and violence against young women in the Matam region in Senegal. The fieldwork places particular emphasis on raising awareness and educating the population to achieve a permanent change in attitudes.
Magali Getrey said that
"the reasons for this practice are so entrenched that, in some communities, it is considered a legitimate practice, despite the laws against it".
Practiced primarily in 30 countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, FGM is also widespread in western Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand among immigrant communities from the countries where FGM is practiced. According to UNICEF, 200 million girls and women worldwide have undergone female genital mutilation, and 500,000 of them live in the EU; 26,000 of those girls and women live in Belgium and, based on an estimate calculated as a proportion of the EU's population, some 650 live in Luxembourg. It is estimated that more than 100 girls living in Luxembourg are at risk of being subjected to female genital mutilation while on a stay in their country of origin.
Through this exhibition, the City and PADEM wish to educate the general public about this practice, which is an unacceptable form of discrimination and sexual violence against women and children.
Magali Getrey explique que
« les raisons de cette pratique est tellement ancrée qu’elle est devenue légitime dans certaines communautés, au mépris des lois ».
Principalement concentrée dans 30 pays africains, du Moyen Orient et de l'Asie, la pratique est également répandue en Europe occidentale, en Amérique du Nord, en Australie et en Nouvelle-Zélande parmi les communautés immigrées des pays où les MGF sont pratiquées. Selon l’UNICEF, 200 millions de filles et de femmes sont actuellement excisées dans le monde et 500.000 d’entre elles vivraient dans l’Union Européenne, dont quelque 26.000 en Belgique et, selon une estimation prorata de la population de l’Union Européenne, quelque 650 au Luxembourg. Il est estimé que plus de 100 filles vivant au Grand-Duché de Luxembourg risquent d’être excisées à l'occasion d'un voyage ou d’un séjour dans leur pays d'origine.
Par le biais de cette exposition, la Ville et PADEM souhaitent sensibiliser le grand public à cette pratique, qui constitue une forme de discrimination et de violence sexuelle inacceptables envers les enfants et les femmes.
