பெண்குறி வெட்டுவதை நார்வே தடுக்கிறது

நார்வேயில் இருக்கும் அரேபியர்கள், மற்றும் இதர முஸ்லீம்கள் தங்கள் பெண்களை கூட்டிக்கொண்டு அரபுநாடுகளுக்கு சென்று அங்கு பெண்குறியை வெட்டிவிட்டு திரும்பிவருகிறார்கள். இதனால், இந்த பெண்களுக்கு வரும் நோய்களுக்காக மருத்துவம்னையில் ஏராளமான முஸ்லீம் பெண்களுக்கு சிகிச்சை அளிக்கப்படுகிறது.
இவ்வாறு செய்வது சட்டத்துக்கு புறம்பானது என்று நார்வே இந்த குற்றங்களை கடுமையாக எதிர்கொள்ளப்போகிறது என்று நார்வே அமைச்சர் கூறுகிறார். பெண்குறி வெட்டுவதற்காக வெளியூர் போகிறார்கள் என்று சந்தேகப்படும்படி இருக்கும் ஆட்களுக்கு பாஸ்போர்ட் வழங்கப்படாது என்று அறிவித்துள்ளார்.

Norway cracks down on female circumcision abroad
Fri 29 Jun 2007, 13:48 GMT

[-] Text [+] OSLO, June 29 (Reuters) - Norway took steps on Friday to crack down on circumcision of girls by barring families from travelling abroad if officials suspect they plan to have the procedure done outside the country.

The intervention followed reports in Norwegian media that at least 185 girls from Norway -- daughters of immigrants -- had their genitals cut in just one village in Somalia.

The government said it would refuse passports to families suspected of sending girls abroad to have the procedure carried out. Authorities can also forbid a family from travelling if they suspect the purpose is female circumcision, officials said.

"Today's decision is about how to prevent children from being subject to genital mutilation," Astri Aas-Hansen, a senior official at the Ministry of Justice and Police, told Reuters.

"This is violence," she said.

Justice Minister Knut Storgberget told Norwegian NTB newswire that officials would not block people from travelling based only on their skin colour or destination. "The authorities must have concrete suspicions that circumcision is planned to be able to deny a passport," he said.

Genital cutting, sometimes referred to as female genital mutilation or circumcision, is banned in Norway and arouses widespread horror in the West but is a rite of passage for young women in many countries, predominantly in Africa.

It also occurs in some Middle Eastern countries, such as Saudi Arabia, in some immigrant communities in Europe and North America and in parts of Asia, including Indonesia.

The practice usually involves removing part or all of the clitoris and other parts of the female genitalia. Many of the practitioners are untrained and use crude instruments, making the practice life-threatening.

The Norwegian government is also considering mandatory check-ups for girls to weed out the practice.

In the last three years, Oslo's university hospital has treated 260 children and women for health problems tied to genital mutilation, some as young as 10 or 11 years old.