ladies and gentlemen,

i thank you for the opportunity to speak today
at the austrian parliament.
but it is especially important to me
as a woman from africa.
because women in africa
are the most deprived people
in the world –
and so many
have no voice.

so for me,
this is also a great opportunity
to raise awareness.
you all know
that the situation for woman in africa
is simply unfair.
according to the world bank,
woman in our countries
produce more than 80 percent of the food,
and do more than 90 percent of the work.

but still,
in many african countries
they are denied the right to own land.
and in total,
they own less than five percent
of the wealth.
they are the ones
that keep our societies going,
that care for the food,
the children and unity.

but our societies fail
to recognise their rights.
in many african countries,
a woman is worth nothing.

you can sell her.
you can buy her.
you can use her
and you can disown her.

most girls and women
have no access to education.
most girls and women
have no access to the health service.
in sub-saharan africa,
one woman out of 16
dies during pregnancy and giving birth.
this is not just a natural thing:
in europe,
where there is good health service,
it is only one out of almost 3.000.
fgm is one part of this situation –
and it is the most disturbing
and the horrendous part of it.
fgm ruins the lives of the girls and women affected.
many die from it,
and the ones
that survive
suffer serious health problems
for the rest of their lives.

we are talking about more than 90 percent
of the women in some african countries.
the un estimates
that two million girls are mutilated
every year.
that means only today,
6.000 girls have to undergo
this criminal act.
6.000 tomorrow.
6.000 lives are ruined day by day.
let me be very clear on this:
fgm is not a tradition.
fgm is not culture.
fgm has nothing to do with religion.
fgm is nothing but a crime.

this has to change.
and the change is in our hands.
unfortunately fgm spreads
over asia,
the arabic countries,
the united states,
canada
and europe.

european politicians
have to take action
against this crime.