Duchess of Cornwall supports efforts to end female genital mutilation

Natascha McElhone speaks with the Duchess of Cornwall during a reception for the Females of the World festival. Photograph: Paul Grover/PA

The Duchess of Cornwall has provided her backing to efforts to stamp out female genital mutilation, according to a leading campaigner.

The co-founder of the anti-FGM charity founder Daughters of Eve, Nimco Ali, mentioned that the duchess gave the “royal seal of approval” throughout a reception for the Southbank Centre’s Girls of the Planet festival, which starts on March five.

Ali was joined on Thursday by far more than 60 females concerned in the festival like the economist Vicky Pryce, the Each day Sexism Task founder, Laura Bates, and actress Natascha McElhone at the Clarence Property reception.

Ali said: “Camilla mentioned she thinks the campaign is terrific and she heard about the things we’re carrying out. She mentioned she was impressed with the operate and wanted a lot more info about the campaign.

“I want to build the momentum. We’re commencing a conversation and we’re breaking the cycle. My ultimate aim is that by the time my niece is eight – she’s 3 now – there will not be a threat of FGM. I want to break that cycle and for her to say later: ‘You had to in fact do that [fight towards FGM]?’ She’s the initial man or woman not to be reduce in the household.”

Earlier this week the training secretary, Michael Gove, agreed to write to all colleges in England about FGM, following a Guardian-backed petition urging the training secretary to consider action attracted practically 250,000 signatures.

Ali will be at the Females of the Globe festival on 9 March speaking about how to end FGM. She will be joined by Lynne Featherstone MP as well as Efua Dorkenoo who is major the Finish FGM/Cutting Social Modify programme supported by the Division for Worldwide Improvement.

As nicely as Ali, the Duchess spoke to McElhone who will be performing a paper review at the festival with the Liberty director, Shami Chakrabarti, and Baroness Doreen Lawrence. McElhone stated the festival was crucial “because it truly is to pull back assumptions we dwell by and never agree with [but] aren’t mindful we have internalised”.

The reception on Thursday launched the festival, which is now in its fourth yr. Camilla spoke to the visitors like three youngsters from Mulberry College for Girls in Tower Hamlets, east London, which she visited last yr. Samihah Yasmin, 15, Jamila Ahmed, 14, and Nazifa Kamali, 15, proudly said they had been feminists and looking forward to Malala Yousafzai’s speak on March 8 which their school obtained forty tickets for.

The reception concluded with a speech by Jude Kelly,the artistic director of the Southbank Centre, who thanked everyone for coming and for the Duchess’s assistance. Kelly praised the duchess for her interest in the anti-FGM campaign. “For me the Duchess has courage and it is very normal. She’s not afraid to speak about justice. She believes the monarchy is there to produce progress and she’s prepared to carry topics to the fore,” Kelly explained.

The duchess’ assistance comes following the Equality and Human Rights Commission wrote to Norman Baker on Thursday, the minister accountable for the Government’s method to fight FGM. In the letter to the minister, the EHRC expressed concern that the £100,000 fund recognized for charities to increase awareness and educate the public about FGM is inadequate.

Lady O’Neill of Bengarve, the chair of the EHRC, explained: “Although the government’s commitment [to finish FGM] is welcome, we want a correctly implemented and enforced nationwide method, appropriately funded, and which brings collectively all the proper authorities across the United kingdom if we are to efficiently tackle this human rights violation.”

Duchess of Cornwall supports efforts to end female genital mutilation