Luxembourg City Exhibition to Raise Awareness on Female Genital Mutilation

On Tuesday 6 February 2024, the College of Mayor and Aldermen of the City of Luxembourg inaugurated an awareness-raising exhibition on the theme of female genital mutilation (FGM) at the Place de Strasbourg, in the presence of Madame Anne Bellini, a member of the council of administration of the aid and development programmes for the children of the world NGO (Programmes d'Aide et de Développement destinés aux Enfants du Monde - PADEM)

This exhibition is part of the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation on 6 February, established by the United Nations General Assembly aiming to amplify global action to eliminate this practice.

The advisory committee for equal opportunities of the City of Luxembourg has announced it is joining forces with the NGO PADEM to organise this informative exhibition, designed with panels, photos and testimonies. PADEM is an NGO that aims to improve the quality of life of vulnerable populations, especially children in developing countries. The exhibition is organised in collaboration with PADEM’s local ONG partner JED (ONG Jeunesse et développement), which is currently leading a project to combat excision and violence against young girls in Senegal.

The work in the field mainly consists of educating and raising awareness among the population to achieve a lasting change in mentalities by highlighting the medical aspect and the consequences of this practice on the physical and mental health of women. Magali Getrey, founder of the NGO PADEM, explains that “the reasons for this practice are obscure, between tradition and religion, and as a result, this practice is so anchored that it has become legitimate in certain communities, in defiance of laws.”

Mainly concentrated in 30 countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, the practice is also widespread in Western Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand among immigrant communities in countries where FGM is practiced. According to UNICEF, 200 million girls and women are currently circumcised in the world and 500,000 of them live in the European Union, including some 26,000 in Belgium and, according to an estimate pro rata of the population of the European Union, some 650 in Luxembourg. It is estimated that more than 100 girls living in the Grand risk being excised during a trip or stay in their country of origin.

Through this exhibition, the City of Luxembourg and PADEM wish to raise awareness among the general public of this practice, which constitutes an unacceptable form of discrimination and sexual violence against children and women.

The exhibition can currently be discovered until 11 April 2024 at the Place de Strasbourg. More information is available at www.padem.org.