WCC general secretary calls for end to FGM

Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a “dehumanising practice”, said the Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC). He said that churches need to work together with other religious partners and governments to eliminate this practice.

Tveit shared these reflections on December 3 at an evening organised by the Global Alliance against Female Genital Mutilation and hosted by the WCC at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland.

He said that the realities of FGM remind him of the prayer “God of life, lead us to justice and peace”, which is the theme of the WCC’s upcoming 10th Assembly in Busan, Republic of Korea in 2013.

Tveit stressed that it is not possible to “live our faith in the God of life, who actively calls us to work for justice and peace” without addressing realities such as FGM that threaten the lives of 6,000 girls every day.

“As religious leaders, we cannot work for human rights and the rights of religious freedom without ending gender based violence and the violation of women’s rights,” he added.

Read full text of the WCC general secretary’s reflections

Website of the Global Alliance against Female Genital Mutilation