Forty Percent of Somali Women in Netherlands Genitally Mutilated'

Where to begin. The good news is that the Netherlands acknowledge that 40 per cent of Somali immigrant women have had their clitoris cut out in a barbaric Muslim practice. The bad news is that the Dutch believe that 40 percent is "relatively few".

Health State Secretary Jet Bussemaker (I assume the top government official for health in the Netherlands) believes that because 90 percent of Somali women in Somalia have undergone female genital mutilation, the Netherlands should be proud of it 40 % rate.

He then goes on to say that midwives (and OB/GYN doctors and anyone else in the health field I hope.) would register this form of mutilation. Which begs the question, what other forms of mutilation is he aware of? And then what will Holland do about it?

Anyway, The good secretary adds that the midwives will be trained how to discuss circumcision (mutilation) with the families. A noble goal, but one which is as doomed to failure as it is out of touch with Islamic culture. And so a white, middle class Dutch midwife (through an interpreter) is going to "educate" Muslim women with a 1400 year history of Islamic female genital mutilation and male domination, as to the evils of female genital mutilation, with her husband and relatives standing there. Yeah right.

But at least the Dutch are aware of the basic problem. Now if they only DO something about it.

FROM NISNEWS.NL:

Forty Percent of Somali Women in Netherlands Genitally Mutilated'
THE HAGUE, 30/05/09

Four out of ten Somali and Ethiopian women who give birth in the Netherlands have been genitally mutilated. This is relatively few, Health State Secretary Jet Bussemaker wrote to the Lower House on Friday.

The figures were recorded by research organisation TNO after questioning midwives. The number of cases of female circumcision is fairly low, since nine out of ten women in the countries of origin have been circumcised, Bussemaker reasoned.

To obtain a better picture of female circumcision, the state secretary previously announced that midwives would be registering this form of mutilation. They will also be trained in how to discuss circumcision with families.