Recent news in Finland

http://www.yle.fi/news/id104013.html

This news brief shows that female circumcision is not limited to African countries. Many whom have migrated outside of Africa still take part in the pratice of femal mutilation. To these individuals it is still vitally important to have their young daughters circumcized. This means sending their young girls back to their home country to have the "operation" and heal. Finland is now discussing the introduction of an international circumcision prevention programme. Neighboring countries have enacted such a programme to help prevent its' practice by enforcing strick penalties to offenders. It is important for everyone in the world to understand that this issue is not somewhere else, it is an issue that strikes right at home for everyone.
Unfortunately, although certain laws can help to a degree to dampen the practice, education is still essential. Counting on the penalties of the law to eradicate female circumcision completely is naive. Unlike normal criminality, female genital cutting is linked to tradition and specific beliefs and therefore can only be stopped through education. The pure fact that this still occurs once a family is outside their country of origin shows just how powerful the notions of this practice really are. It will take more than fear of punishment to stop this problem.