• croatiantimes.com
• romaniantimes.at
• salzburgtimes.at
• viennatimes.at
• austrianindependent.com

Today

• Vienna - VESCC English Catholic Mass
• Vienna - Unknown Underground
• Vienna - Cats
• Vienna - Andy Warhol
• Vienna - Laser Tag

© SPÖ

04. 02. 10. - 16:00

• more General News news
• RSS Feed General News

04. 02. 10. - 16:00

Female genital mutilation remains problem, group warns

Between 6,000 and 8,000 women in Austria have been forced to undergo genital mutilation, according to Social Democratic MP Petra Bayr.

Bayr, a member of the Austrian Platform against Female Genital Mutilation, said today: "Many parents believe they are doing their daughters a favour by forcing them to undergo it."

She said the only way to change such thinking was to engage in awareness-raising and make it clear to parents that genital mutilation was neither called for by religion nor a pre-condition for finding a husband.

Rather, she added, genital mutilation was a violation of human rights that left its victims mentally and physically damaged for the rest of their lives.

Bayr added that her group was working with health personnel, migrant organisations and religious leaders to try to change the situation.

Such work, she claimed, had been bearing fruit. "The situation is better than before," and there was more counselling available, she said.

Bayr said the Platform wanted 6 February - proclaimed "International Day of Zero Tolerance of Female Genital Mutilation" at the Inter African Committee conference seven years ago - to become a UN commemorative day to increase public awareness of the problem.

The Platform will also begin a Europe-wide campaign against genital mutilation with an event on 17 February at Palais Epstein in Vienna.

Greens’ women’s spokeswoman Judith Schwentner called for asylum for all prospective victims of genital mutilation, "a serious assault on the physical and sexual integrity of women and a serious violation of human rights."

The Platform claims 155 million women around the world have been subject to genital mutilation, and Amnesty International says three million women a year, or 8,000 a day, are forced to undergo it.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said the practice is most common in northern and western areas of Africa and is not restricted to Muslims.

Austrian Times

AUA rules out Whitsun travel chaos
The current conflict with the works committee does not negatively affect Austrian Airlines’ (AUA) booking figures, according to a spokesman.

Weak start for RWR Card
People’s Party (ÖVP) Economy Minister Reinhold Mitterlehner has admitted difficulties in introducing the Red White Red Card (RWR Card, Rot-Weiß-Rot Card).

Pröll outpaces friends and foes in capability check
Austria’s longest-serving governor has been identified as the most capable one in the opinion of citizens.

Foul-mouthed MPs might face fines
Fritz Neugebauer has started another attempt to introduce a system of fees for abusive parliament delegates (MPs).

Car sharers should get cheap U-Bahn tickets say greens
People who support the environment by signing up for car sharing initiatives to cut down inner city congestion should get subsidised public transport.

Film festivals in Vienna
There are two film festivals back to back in Vienna this May and June. The "Let's CEE Film Festival" shows films from Central and Eastern Europe, while the "Vienna Independent Shorts" focuses on short films.

Salzburg builds new prison
Salzburg is to get a new prison.

Postwoman killed by express train
An 32-year-old postwoman was killed instantly when she apparently failed to see a stop sign on a train track - and was hit by a 120 kph express train at the Grimmenstein sortage depot in the Lower Austrian region of Neunkirchen.

Dirty water caused by excrement
Health experts are struggling to find the source of excrement that has contaminated water supplies at the town of Köstendorf in Salzburg province.

Man Utd chase Austrian ace
Manchester United have signalised interest in David Alaba.

Jobs in Austria