Abstract
The UN has stated its aim to eliminate ‘Female Genital Mutilation’ by 2030. In adherence to this, many countries have introduced or enhanced legislative and policy measures aimed at prevention through surveillance and punishment. In the European context, while protecting young girls from harm is the notional purpose of such measures, political and media debates have often been framed within nation-building rhetoric: across Europe ‘FGM’ has become the de rigour signifier of the vilified migrant/Muslim Other. This paper explores the impact of FGM-safeguarding measures in relation to citizenship and belonging for people of Somali heritage living in Bristol, England. It contributes to the incipient critical scholarship concerned with the powerful but blinkered hegemonic narrative pedalled by the UN and the policy turn within Europe towards prevention-through-criminalisation. Further, it advances debates on the conundrum of inclusive citizenship considering how a policy intervention which was initiated with widespread support among affected groups and undertaken on an anti-racist platform, resulted in stigmatisation and racism. Using Anderson’s (Us and Them? The Dangerous Politics of Immigration Control. Oxford: OUP) framework of citizenship as a ‘community of value’, the paper also contributes to the growing body of work on how citizenship is experienced and the symbiotic and interdependent relationship between status, rights and identity.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 4547-4566 |
| Number of pages | 20 |
| Journal | Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies |
| Volume | 48 |
| Issue number | 19 |
| Early online date | 30 Jul 2022 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 30 Jul 2022 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This work was supported by Faculty of Social Sciences and Law, University of Bristol and the Journal for Law and Society. The authors would like to thank Hannelore Van Bavel and the two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
Keywords
- Inclusive citizenship
- female genital mutilation
- safeguarding
- criminalisation
Access to Document
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This is the final published version of the article (version of record). It first appeared online via Taylor and Francis Group at 10.1080/1369183X.2022.2095257. Please refer to any applicable terms of use of the publisher.