Parliament divided over suitable punishment for FGM

Accra, June 6, GNA- The question of whether to deal harshly with practitioners of female genital mutilation or not, took centre stage on Wednesday with divisions over what was a suitable jail sentence for offenders.

Some members called for a minimum of five and maximum of 10 years jail sentences for offenders, while others said the degrading cultural practice could result in the death and urged for a minimum of 10 and maximum of 25 years to deter the practitioners and accomplices of female genital mutilation. The House came alive with sharp divisions and a heated debate causing a lot of members to stand to their feet to catch the Speaker's eye, to state their position.

The matter came up when the Chairman of the Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Committee, Mr Kofi Osei-Ameyaw, moved an amendment proposing that a four-year jail sentence be deleted and substituted with 10 years as minimum sentence and 10 years be replaced with 25, as maximum for offence of the Criminal Code (Amendment) Bill. The Bill was being taken through the Consideration Stage and it seeks to amend the Criminal Code to change the reference female circumcision to female genital mutilation to widen the scope of the actual nature of the offence and alter the scope of responsibility to include all other accomplices to the practice.

Mr. Osei-Ameyaw said stiffer punishment was needed to discourage the practice and 10 years minimum and 25 years maximum was in order. Mr. Haruna Iddrisu, (NDC-Tamale South) disagreed, saying countries were moving towards custodial sentences, besides there was the need to focus on reformation of offenders and therefore the 10-25 years was too violent.

Both Deputy Majority Leader, Mr. Abraham Osei Aidooh and Deputy Minority Leader, Mr. Edward Doe Adjaho, supported Mr. Iddrisu's call for a minimum of five years and maximum of 10 years. They said cultural factors and the education of the culprits should be considered in the discussions.

Other members who contributed could still not agree on the best custodial sentence, while some called for a dispassionate debate and urged for softer punishment others said victims of the practice could die and therefore a harsh and deterrent sentence was in order. The Speaker, Mr. Ebenezer Sekyi Hughes, ruled that proposed amendment for stiffer punishment be looked at again and stepped down the proposal for further consultation and consensus.