The Cabildo of Fuerteventura has joined the commemoration of the International Day of Zero Tolerance against Female Genital Mutilation, which is celebrated every February 6 to condemn this internationally recognized practice as a serious violation of human rights, health and the integrity of women and girls.

A spokeswoman for the Sociocultural Association of Mauritanian Women DIMBE was in charge of reading the manifesto, in a ceremony held this morning outside the Casa Palacio and which was attended by the president of the Cabildo of Fuerteventura, Sergio Lloret López ; the first and second vice presidents, Lola García and Claudio Gutiérrez, respectively; the Minister of Social Policies, Adargoma Hernández, and other members of the Island Corporation. The Councilor for Social Services of Puerto del Rosario, Yanira Domínguez, and other councilors from the Municipal Corporation, national deputies and parliamentarians, as well as representatives from Sáhara Fuerte, also attended.

The island president, Sergio Lloret López, thanked "the work that DIMBE has been doing for years to put an end to this practice that affects millions of girls and women around the world and that should be considered a clear act of gender violence" . Likewise, he expressed the "firm commitment of the insular institution, public institutions and society so that they not only give visibility to this problem but also become aware to eradicate these practices as soon as possible, especially in the countries in which with greater proportionality occur”.

According to the Minister of Social Policies, Adargoma Hernández, the objective of this act is "to give visibility to a practice that is not so far away from us, but unfortunately affects girls and women on our own Island. Society must be aware that These facts have to be denounced as gender violence.”

In her manifesto, the representative of DIMBE, Hawa Toure, calls on public officials to support the associations in the fight to eradicate female genital mutilation. They request the empathy of all and all towards the survivors of this practice, highlighting the importance of raising awareness to put an end to it. Equally important is the joint work from the community, health, education, security forces and social services spheres.

DIMBE warns of the alarming figures that exist throughout the world, Spain and the Canary Islands. Data from the National Institute of Statistics for 2018 reveal that in Spain there are more than 15,500 girls at risk of being mutilated. In the Canary Islands, the figure would reach 517 girls in the province of Las Palmas and 244 in the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife.

The DIMBE association has been working for many years to eradicate female genital mutilation in the Canary Islands. From the field work that this entity has carried out in Fuerteventura, it is found that there are 26 families in the municipality of La Oliva, from the town of Kaedl (Mauritania) where all the mothers are mutilated. This implies 31 girls who are at high risk of being mutilated, going on vacation to their countries of origin and having the mutilation practiced on them.